Driving and Cell Phones

Discussion in 'Public General Chat' started by PhoenixDog, Oct 26, 2009.

?

Should driving while on a phone be banned?

  1. Yes, it's dangerous

    14 vote(s)
    93.3%
  2. No, I think it's fine

    1 vote(s)
    6.7%
  3. I'm neutral on the issue

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. PhoenixDog
    Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2008
    Messages:
    1,799
    Likes Received:
    3
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Delivery Receiver - Sears/Futureshop/Bestbuy
    Location:
    Mississauga, ON
    In Toronto, and I believe the rest of Ontario are issuing a ban today, official at 12:30pm EST on cell phone use while driving. This includes texting, emailing, and just talking on a phone. However, hands-free devices are still permitted.

    They say that talking on a phone increases your chances of crashing to that of driving with a BAC of .08%, or the old legal limit in Ontario (is now .05). But my question is, and I ask all of you as well...Is this ban (and subsequent equivalence compared to DWI) justified? Or is it just bullshit?

    Personally, I claim the latter. I mean, I can understand texting. I have a qwerty phone and I text while driving even though I know I shouldn't...But when calling and talking to someone on the phone, I don't see how it can be compared to drinking while [legally] drunk. When I'm driving normally, I drive with only one hand, usually on the lower part of the wheel. So when I'm on the phone, I am driving with only one hand. Talking while driving is the same on a phone as having someone in the passenger seat.

    What's your take on all of this, XoO?
     
  2. Brownmccoy
    Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2008
    Messages:
    3,149
    Likes Received:
    25
    Location:
    Halifax, NS, Canada
    Its been banned here in NS for a while. While its not enforced, there is a visible difference in crashes. For responsible people, who if they were to talk on the phone would only put a bit of their attention with the phone, itd be fine. Its for the idiots who are on their phone and put all of their attention on it (picture the idiotic bleached-blonde bimbos on their phones, lifting their hands off the wheel to yell "OH MY GOD?! DID HE REALLY DO THAT?! OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!".

    Yeah. People aren't responsible, and idiots already text while driving, which is disconcerning, and a lot of people aren't much better when on their phones. Most people can't divide their attention properly.
     
  3. sid the rat
    Guest

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2008
    Messages:
    362
    Likes Received:
    11
    100% agree with Brown.

    The difference between talking on the phone vs. talking to a passenger is that the passenger can see the same stuff you can see, so if they see you are focusing on something, i.e. traffic or a dangerous situation, they will STFU. A person on the phone can't possibly know what situation you're in, so they'll continue on as normal.

    The problem is when people focus more on their conversation than on driving, because nobody's life usually depends on a phone conversation, whereas you can kill lots of people with your car, including yourself.

    They recently had an episode of "the conversation" on NPR about people texting and driving in the Seattle area, it was pretty interesting... several people admitted to doing it, and several of them admitted that it had caused them to have an accident. Only one of them said that because of that accident, they wouldn't text and drive anymore. :confused:

    Here, phone conversations (with the exceptions of hands-free) are banned, but it's a secondary offense - so unless you're doing something else they can pull you over for, they can't fine you for it. IMO, this is how it should be.
     
  4. The Communist
    Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2008
    Messages:
    4,380
    Likes Received:
    9
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    Texas
    Other people cant drive. Give them cell phones and they are down right retarded.
     
  5. Jeb
    Guest

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2008
    Messages:
    2,309
    Likes Received:
    6
    Brown, it is being enforced here now...
    I can't recall the number of fines they handed out, but it's pretty high.

    One thing they were getting people on is even sitting at a red light, you can't slip in a call...


    Now I see people pulled over to the side of the road to talk in the most stupid locations... onramps for example... narrow roads with no room to pull over... the onramp to the new bridge coming from robbie street... sharp corners where you can't see them till your already on them...

    I agree though it's dangerous... speaker phones they are saying are no better.... and it's because people are not able to multitask and put the majority of their attention on driving instead of talking...
    Ever notice people that get on the phone and can't hear you if you ask them something? They are so tuned into their phone convo, they don't notice things around them...
     
  6. EpyonNext
    Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2008
    Messages:
    383
    Likes Received:
    1
    I think hands free at a minimum should be required. I personally have a bluetooth controller built into my stereo system with the mic near my rear view mirror just so I don't have to take my hands off the wheel ever to answer a call.
     
  7. sid the rat
    Guest

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2008
    Messages:
    362
    Likes Received:
    11
    I found the study they talked about in that NPR radio show, it's from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, some very interesting statistics -

    And just for good measure...

    If you're interested, here's the source
     
  8. TheEPIC
    Veteran

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2008
    Messages:
    1,362
    Likes Received:
    3
    Living in California should make me the de facto expert on cell-phone use while driving. Normally bad drivers (read: the majority of Californian drivers) have their badness increased exponentially when engaging in phone conversation (even hands-free).

    Also, it's typically the people who think "I can use my phone and drive and it doesn't hinder me" (again, read: the majority of Californian drivers) that are the most dangerous. They have just been lucky they haven't had their shittiness exposed in an accident yet.

    Anyways, my opinion is: if you absolutely, positively gotta answer or make a call; PULL THE FUCK OVER!. I swear I've had it with people screwing up my daily commute because their phone call is more important than actually driving.


    Off topic (but still about phones): I am also sick of people who need to talk excessively loud on their cell phones. The world is not your phone booth assholes. I don't want to hear your conversations, ever.
     
  9. Jeb
    Guest

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2008
    Messages:
    2,309
    Likes Received:
    6
    the thing that gets me about all this is why don't we have all these studies on people smoking and drinking coffee while driving...
    1) reaching for a pack of smokes, pulling one out, reaching for a lighter, lighting the smoke, the flash of bright light in your vision when lighting the smoke... and then having one hand holding a cigarette the rest of the time while driving sounds as bad as a cell phone to me ;)
    2) reaching for a HOT cup of coffee while driving, having to tilt the cup into your field of vision, maybe spilling some on your lap... ;) All very dangerous...

    BUT this one is the one that takes the cake... what about the ones that smoke and drink coffee at the same time...

    OR even worse (and I was friends with a girl that used to do this and it freaked me the fuck out... ) drive a standard in the city, smoking, with coffee in the cup holder (drinking it) while on the phone...
    I stopped driving with her after seeing that... somehow she never got into an accident, but I always wonder how many she may have caused others to get into...


    but yeah... hands free... and no texting Pdog ;) Texting while driving is insane to do...
     
  10. Brownmccoy
    Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2008
    Messages:
    3,149
    Likes Received:
    25
    Location:
    Halifax, NS, Canada
    the reason that they don't ban drinking coffee and or other things is that firstly, it could be argued that hydration is important, and saying you can't drink is a violation of basic human rights, and you will also only spend about 5 seconds taking a drink... whereas phone conversations can often last as long as the trip.

    And I also freak out when I see people smoking and drinking coffee when driving.... but then I realize that they're addicted to smoking and caffeine and probably other things, and will be dead soon anyway... ok so I'm morbid, what can I say....
     
  11. TheEPIC
    Veteran

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2008
    Messages:
    1,362
    Likes Received:
    3
    I hate seeing women applying makeup, or guys shaving while driving. That sort of thing makes me cringe because you know their eyes aren't on the road.
     
  12. Brownmccoy
    Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2008
    Messages:
    3,149
    Likes Received:
    25
    Location:
    Halifax, NS, Canada
    See, I've never seen or even heard of a case where someone has shaved while driving.... However, if you see someone's throat cut and bleeding profusely, you know they were focusing on the road :p

    Make-up has always baffled me. Well, the appliance of it in a car anyway. I mean, either your attention has to be 90% on your makeup at least, otherwise you risk poking yourself in the eye (justice IMO), smear lipstick or whatever. And yes, that statistic was pulled out of my ass, but seems realistic to the person who doesn't apply makeup....

    I don't see how they think its a good idea. If anyone thinks this is a good idea, IMO, they shouldn't only have their licenses revoked, but they should be 'darwinized' to prevent further contamination to the gene pool :p