Hands free are not improving safety

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

But you will still get a tucket if caught

Hands-Free Headsets Don't Improve Driving Safety

[bigrick Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bigrick]

I don't get the tremendous objection to talking while driving. Every person who has told me they think talking on the phone while driving is extremely dangerous has also said, when I asked them, that they talk to passengers in their car while driving. What's the difference?

[MargeS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MargeS]

I don't really know WHY there is a difference, but EVERY time we are on the road and the person in front of us cannot seem to stay completely in their lane and their speed keeps going up and down a few mph, they are ALWAYS ON THEIR CELL PHONE!!! and totally unaware of their actions as viewed from behind them...

it used to be only the drunk drivers did that while driving....

[PHILL12 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PHILL12]

I agree that talking on a cell phone while driving takes your mind off driving! I drove a bus for about six years and a big rig for thirty three years without a ticket or accident.

Few years ago while on the way home one of my friends called and while listening to him I heard cars blowing their horns at me and giving me the number one finger. I then found I had driven my car right through a red light that I have stopped at for more than ten years.

Second time I was stopped at a red light waiting to turn and again listening to a friend and next thing you know I made a left turn on the red light in my car. So it either was the fault of my car or my phone!

Now I'm not the best driver but my driving record shows I have been better than most for many years including bus driving and carrying 45 people on the bus for many miles without one miss hap!

PHILL12

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

There is no question that talking on the phone while driving is dangerous. In California, a lot of people ignore the law and still talk on their hand held cell phone. I guess they figure that the odds of them being caught are pretty low.

It used to be when I saw a driver weaving or driving erratically, I assumed they were drunk or falling asleep. Now I assume they are talking on the phone and that always proves to be the case.

[bigrick Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bigrick]

I'm amazed how many people ignore the California law against talking on their hand held cell phones. It's rare to see someone OBEYing the law. I think if this law was enforced, California could balance its budget without increasing taxes or cutting any spending.

[Sogno Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sogno]

I don't get the tremendous objection to talking while driving. Every person who has told me they think talking on the phone while driving is extremely dangerous has also said, when I asked them, that they talk to passengers in their car while driving. What's the difference?

Hi folks, I'm new to this forum, and this thread caught my attention because it is a REAL hot button for me.
It's a proven fact, determined through research studies, that cell phone operation while driving is equivalent to driving while intoxicated. The data is in and irrefutable. Compound this with people now texting while driving and we have roads filled with distracted, and dangerous drivers out there. Imagine sharing your roads with a very high percentage of people that are stoned drunk. Well, you essentially are.

So, why isn’t hand-held cell usage and texting while driving illegal? Perhaps because the USA is years behind other countries in this area, as we are in some others. (Traffic roundabouts are now finally very slowly making their introduction in my area, but have been in use throughout the world for very many years. Try using your cell phone while driving in Europe.

A conversation with a phone in your hand is much different than one with a passenger in your car for a number of reasons, but the answers aren’t as simple as some may think. Boiled down, it relates to how humans process information. Did you also know you speak louder when on a cell phone vs. a land line? Very true – everyone does. I’m confident that fMRI studies will pinpoint and spell this out in the near future.

As an avid motorcyclist, I am contemplating giving up my passion simply because cell phones while driving are legal where I live. I’ve nearly been killed several times, and came very close to having my leg clipped off while exiting my vehicle in a parking lot by a driver yacking with a phone up to her ear. I was NOT happy, and she was oblivious.

Drunk driving gets a great deal of press, and fatalities are commonly front page news. It makes us feel good inside to attack these criminals that have the audacity to drive while drunk. Where is the outrage from fatalities caused by those on cell phones? You’re just as dead.

Anyone that rationalizes they are just as good of a driver with a cell phone up to their ear than one without one has as strong an argument as the drunkard that says they can drive just fine with 3 martinis in them. Very weak argument indeed.

[mdurette Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mdurette]

I live in MA and this is some info from our new law that starts this week. Deals with texting and teenager cell phone usage. I do wonder does reading or composing an email fall into the same catagory? Technically two different things.


Under the new law which takes effect in October, any driver caught composing or reading a text message can be cited and fined $100. Operators of public transportation vehicles who violate the ban will be subject to a $500 fine. Law enforcement will have the authority to stop any driver suspected of texting. However, the offense will not be considered a moving violation and will not be subject to an insurance surcharge.

Drivers under 18 cited for using any type of cell phone or mobile electronic device with or without a hands-free feature will be subject to a $100 fine and a 60-day suspension of their driver's license. Offenders will also have to complete a driver attitudinal course before their license is reinstated. Massachusetts is the 29th state to ban dangerous driving behavior.

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Sogno, welcome to the forum. You & I are on the same wave link. I detest cell phones in the car. A good friend of mines wife lost her daughter when her cell phone rang & she reached to get it and lost control of the car.

If you call me and I'm in the car you won't get me until I stop somewhere and check my messages and call you back.

shaggy

[MargeS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MargeS]

I don't use my phone in the car either. Recently I was driving, and a good friend was my passenger. My phone rang, and she must have told me 3 times, as though I couldn't hear it. I said "I know, I won't answer if I am driving." She gave me such an astonished look...

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

So, why isn’t hand-held cell usage and texting while driving illegal? Perhaps because the USA is years behind other countries in this area, as we are in some others. (Traffic roundabouts are now finally very slowly making their introduction in my area, but have been in use throughout the world for very many years. Try using your cell phone while driving in Europe.

It is against the law in many states including my state California. The problem is that drivers are ignoring the law. They need to make it a criminal offense like DUI as it is just as dangerous.

[Sogno Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sogno]

It is against the law in many states including my state California. The problem is that drivers are ignoring the law. They need to make it a criminal offense like DUI as it is just as dangerous.

John, In addtion to CA, what states is it against the law?

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

John, In addtion to CA, what states is it against the law?

Many, to one degree or another:

State Cell Phone Use and Texting While Driving Laws

FWIW, daydreaming, thinking about problems, etc., is as distracting as anything, so should that be banned too?

. . . Well, Your Honor, I could tell by the look on his face that the driver of the car on the right was thinking about a problem at work, and the driver of the car on the left was thinking about how to keep his wife from finding out about his girlfriend. Neither of them saw it was a four-way stop and they met in the middle of the intersection.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Besides . . . Oprah can't be wrong.

Hey, maybe next she gives away new cars, she could include a cell phone with each one.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

John, In addtion to CA, what states is it against the law?

Here is a link that show all the states cell phone laws if any. I don't know how up to date it is because it doesn't show Hawaii. When I was on the big island ( Hawaii ) in April, there were signs along the highway stating that it was illegal to operate any electronic device while driving.

http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/l...hone_laws.html