# Banning Cell Phone Use For Inexperienced Drivers **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 4, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-cell-phone-use-for-inexperienced-drivers/179515 "2003-06-04T04:20:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-cell-phone-use-for-inexperienced-drivers/179515/41 "2003-06-05T11:03:55Z")
There are many factors involved what might be relatively safe in very slow city traffic may be more dangerous at highway speeds. earphones of any kind should be banned as they take away a lot of sensory and spatial perception. Mobile phones even with hands-free kits with earphones are too distracting. The main problem is not the hands but ahere the attention is concentrated. A hands-free kit which uses a loudspeaker and microphone which are out of the way would be better but you still have to deal with dialing, hanging up, etc. If someone causes an accident and a cellphone or other distracting gadget was involved I would consider it an aggravating factor. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-cell-phone-use-for-inexperienced-drivers/179515/42 "2003-06-05T14:21:02Z")
I live in New York, where handheld sets are illigal (a guy from montreal driving to NYC was pulled over for talking on a cell phone, turns out he had 105 pounds of Hydro Weed in his trunk). It is legal, however, to have a hands free set. Keeps people who _need_ to make those calls right then happy, while keeping both their hands on the wheel. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-cell-phone-use-for-inexperienced-drivers/179515/43 "2003-06-05T16:08:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*I wouldnt want to stop at inexperienced drivers. I think the use of cell phones while driving should be banned outright. Even good drivers are impaired by them. \*\* Here I am in complte agreement with this simple but wise idea. Or, as has been said “Shut up and drive”. No cell phone use (unless dialing 911), at all, while you are driving- not with a headset, not with a fox, not in a box. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-cell-phone-use-for-inexperienced-drivers/179515/44 "2003-06-05T17:16:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by amanset \* > \*\*IMHO using a hands-free is not the same as simply talking to someone else in the car. The person on the end of the phone is not aware of the situation the driver is in and thus cannot react to difficult traffic situations like a passenger can. If there is a situation on the road the passenger knows to shut up and let the driver concentrate, the person on the end of the phone doesn’t. \*\* Also, the very nature of many telephone conversations is different. People might be expecting you to write things down, take notes, and pay close attention. For me, talking on a cell phone is a special form of hell. I hate distractions when I’m on the telephone. I hate extraneous noises. I hate the feeling that I might lose the connection. Hate. Hate. Hate. Julie ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-cell-phone-use-for-inexperienced-drivers/179515/45 "2003-06-05T19:08:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElJeffe \* > The proper way to approach this is to just enforce the laws on the books. Driving recklessly is, in fact, against the law. If you’re swerving around the road, the officer can pull you over and write you up. And the nice thing is that this doesn’t require some additional law to cover every possible action the driver could be performing that distracted him from his driving. This may be. But despite all the reckless driving I’ve seen (and occasionally done), I’ve never seen anyone pulled over for it. My WAG is that cops would prefer to pull people over for stuff that breaks the clear letter of the law - going 68 in a 55 zone, running a red light, etc. - than for something that’s innately a judgment call. (I’ll have to ask my FIL about this - he used to be a motorcycle cop, back in another lifetime.) Having an offense like “driving while deliberately distracted” (maybe it needs a better name, but that’s the idea) that includes _by name_ such specific offenses as talking on the cell phone and eating solid food (drinks are more manageable), and a general catchall of anything that involves the use of one or more hands on an ongoing (as opposed to momentary) basis (e.g. applying makeup, brushing one’s hair, rummaging through one’s briefcase, etc.) would give cops something specific to hang a ticket on. And realistically, that’s what they’re going to need if you want them to enforce. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-cell-phone-use-for-inexperienced-drivers/179515/46 "2003-06-05T19:09:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jackmannii \* > I don’t think laws will make the big difference though. Insurance companies will have to administer big hits in their customers’ rates following cellphone-related accidents in order to get people’s attention. I think you’re on to something here, **Jack** , but I think laws can help. If cops start ticketing motorists for holding phones to their ears, and the insurance companies notice more accidents involving such motorists than with drivers that haven’t received such tickets, then the insurance companies would have something to go on. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-cell-phone-use-for-inexperienced-drivers/179515/47 "2003-06-06T00:13:26Z")
Maybe what the insurance companies can do, on that note, is issue a credit (!) to people who swear they’ll never use a cell phone in a car… Oh, never mind. Nice, but impractical. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-cell-phone-use-for-inexperienced-drivers/179515.md?page=2)