Why is it so much more dangerous/difficult to talk on a cell phone while driving than it is just talking to a passenger riding with you?
I have never tried talking on a cell phone while driving, but I see that many states have outlawed their use. It seems to me that talking to someone in the seat next to or behind you could be just as, if not MORE distracting while driving…surely they won’t outlaw talking while driving???
When you talk to the person in the seat behind you s/he has the advantage of being able to say, “Hey, watch the road!”
I would guess that with a cell phone, a drive is concentrating more on using the phone and talking to a person who is not in the car than if you’re talking with a passenger.
That said, it’s just as dangerous to spend all your time changing stations on the radio, reading a map, or looking for gum. The key is : WATCH THE ROAD!
Because you can leave both hands on the wheel while talking to another passenger. Holding a cell phone requires one hand.
Also, you typically have to look at the cell phone to do things like dial a number which takes your eyes off the road.
“Sometimes I think the web is just a big plot to keep people like me away from normal society.” — Dilbert
Who cares why? Several studies have conclusively proven that it is. If this were a logical argument suggesting that cell phones are dangerous to use while driving, and you wanted to argue the logic supporting that position, that would be fine. Unfortunately, it isn’t based on logic: It’s based on facts and figures. Kind of hard to argue with that.
What is not yet determined is the exact range of risk. Some studies say it’s approximately equal to driving drunk; some say less, some say more. No studies, however, say there is zero impact.
Sorry if this comes off a little harsh, but it seems to me that the people who complain about not being able to use cell phones while they drive are the same short-sighted “Uh-murr-kins” who think they have a God-given right to do any damnfool thing that comes into their heads. “I don’t wanna wear a helmet on my motorcycle! I don’t wanna put on my seatbelt!” Blah, blah blah. I got no problem with people who want to engage in high-risk personal behavior, as long as it doesn’t affect anyone else. But if you’re doing something that makes it more likely you’re going to crush someone’s Geo Metro with your 4Runner, hey, I say, regulate the hell out of that behavior.
[/rant]
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I think it also has a lot to do with the visualization factor. As you are talking to someone on a cell phone, you need to imagine what they look like or what they are talking about. This is much like daydreaming while you are driving (something I practice avidly) or getting too involved in the music (ditto). It is basically something that requires much more thinking than just having a conversation with somebody in the back seat.
I certain agree that not all cell phone users are irresponsible. In fact, it’s probably a minority. But I have certainly seen a number of douche bags (salesmen and executives) driving down the road conducting business. Nothing wrong with that, you say? I agree, because they are either on their way home or to a meeting and want to take care of some other business matters while on the road. But inevitably, the driver then either tries to read something off a paper, or write down some critical notes, and wham! Now you have a car full of dead kids that were on their way home from daycare with their Mom killed, by this inconsiderate moron.
Of course, this guy didn’t intend for his phone call to get that involved, but the road to Hell is paved with good intentions…
Well, my theory is that when you chat on the phone, your eyes look somewhere between 3 and 5 feet in front of you, without focusing on anything specific - just look at a parent talking on the phone in the kitchen; the kids have to be doing something pretty loud before daddy/mommy notices. Of course, when driving, 3 to 5 feet is not as good as, say, 1/2 mile all around. When you have a conversion with a passenger in your car, you are talking while driving. When you’re on a cell phone, you’re driving while talking. One automotive company actually has a commercial using a businessman with his phone, fax and laptop spread out over the stearing wheel. The commercial lauds a safer vehicle. I say: let’s get safer drivers out there instead.
Oops - “conversation”, not “conversion”. :o
HelloKitty, tanstaafl got it right replying with the reason, “Because you can leave both hands on the wheel while talking to another passenger. Holding a cell phone requires one hand”. I thought I would add the additional point, that places that ban cell phones usually don’t ban hands-free cell phones, only those that must be held during use, and those only when moving (ie. you can pull over to the side of the rode and make a call with a hand-held cell phone).
In this world, you must be oh-so smart, or oh-so pleasant. For years I was smart. I recommend pleasant.
Iswote said:
Is this true? I have heard from a friend who is a fire chief that it is actually better to drive with only one hand on the wheel, the thinking being that you will respond faster and with less conflict among impulses (aleft hand vs. right hand sort of thing). Anyone know the truth about this?
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I didn’t mean to come across as someone who was complaining about not being able to use a cell phone while driving, and as I noted, I never have–I don’t even own a cell phone. (thank God!!)
I definitely agree that if talking on a cell phone is proven to be dangerous that it should be regulated. I was just thinking that passengers can be just as distracting, and so can changing radio stations, CD’s, etc. as someone else mentioned. But you are right that these things have not (yet) been PROVEN to cause higher fatalities.
A topic near and dear to my heart.
It’s true that anything we do while behind the wheel besides concentrating on the road takes away from our ability to drive safely. There are multiple distractions that drivers indulge in every day; we talk on the phone, apply makeup, eat, read, etc.
There are already laws prohibiting unsafe driving practices (of any sort). Specifically targeting wireless phone users implies that there is a greater risk of accidents associated with using them than there is with other distractions. So the question is, is wireless phone usage so much more distracting than anything else we do that it warrants special legislation banning it?
Most of the evidence against wireless phone use is anecdotal. No one has yet conclusively proven that wireless phone use contributes to accident rates any more than any other distraction. Studies vary widely on the impact of wireless phone usage. A 1997-98 study by the Rochester Institute of Technology concluded that there was an increased risk, but they didn’t say how much more of a risk there was, or if the risk was greater than any of the other distractions listed above.
So IMHO, you can’t legislate safe driving. If lawmakers want to ban specific distractions like wireless phone use, they should also ban tuning your radio, adjusting your mirrors and anything else that may cause someone to take their eyes off the road. Otherwise, leave it up to the individuals to decide when it’s safe to make a call.
One of my first experiences with a cell-phone-using driver about 10 years ago definately got me on the ban-them-while-driving bandwagon.
I was in the left lane of a street approaching a green light. A driver from the cross street made a right turn. But his turn wasn’t tight enough and he ended up in my lane, making me come to a screeching halt. I didn’t hit him, fortunately. The thing etched on my mind was seeing him trying to turn with one hand while balancing the phone with his other.
Yet I feel hypocritical, because I sometimes make calls while driving. I try to do it either at a stop or in sparce traffic. Even with those precautions, I feel uneasy as I dial. Just diverting my attention to the phone pad makes me feel as though I’ve just nodded off at the wheel.
You must unlearn what you have learned. – Yoda
I stopped using my cell phone while driving when I realized that my kids were soon going to be of driving age. I know that I am a good enough and experienced enough driver to be able to have one hand on phone and one hand on the wheel; but for the first several years that they would be driving, they wouldn’t be experienced enough… and yet, teenagers will mimic parental behaviour. If they see me doing something (like, say, driving while talking on the phone), they feel that they are old enough to be an adult and to do that too.
I pull over to the side of the road when I need to make a call.
And you know what? I’ve found most of the calls aren’t that important. It’s usually, “Hi, I’m running about ten minutes late” or “I’m leaving the office now, I should be there in twenty minutes.” I mean, c’mon, what’s so critical about such messages that they can’t be made BEFORE leaving the office, or pulled off to the side of the road.
And then you see people with a cup of coffee in one hand and their cell phone to their ear, BACKING OUT OF THEIR DRIVEWAY! I saw this one yesterday… Woman had no idea that there might be other cars on the road.
I think they are incredibly dangerous and distracting. Much more so than another passenger in the car.
I have a little ear piece with my Nokia phone that I use when driving. I have speed-dial numbers set up so that dialing the phone takes no more effort than tuning the radio. I feel safe doing this, and since I am left with a reconstructed neck, I’m very attentive to car safety.
Has anyone studied whether it’s more dangerous to drive with a passenger? Would you favor outlawing more than one person in a car if it was found to be more dangerous? I guess we could get rid of those &$*# HOV lanes!
I think one reason that it is so dangerous to drive with a cell phone is that there is so much information (sound) thrown away by the system that you have to concentrate real hard to understand what the other person is saying. I think the same holds true for regular phones, too. You can have a conversation with someone with all kind of distractions around, but on the phone the distractions are, well, too distracting, to carry on a phone conversation.