# Is smoking while driving really dangerous? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 15, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-smoking-while-driving-really-dangerous/344666 "2006-02-15T19:00:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-smoking-while-driving-really-dangerous/344666/41 "2006-02-21T17:06:13Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > This I don’t get. Surely if you’re talking on a cellphone with a hands-free kit, surely it’s the same as talking to someone in the passenger street. I have heard that “the person on the other end of the phone can’t react to what’s happening on the road”. Well neither can a blind person. Or an angry girlfriend. Should they be banned too? It’s just not the same. Talking to someone on the phone versus chatting in the flesh. You have to pay more attention to a disembodied voice than one sitting right next to you. But, let’s play along anyway. If you’re honestly trying to say that a hands-free cell phone is _less_ dangerous than a cigarette while driving, I’d remind you that you still have to _answer_ a hands-free cell call, which takes about as much time as lighting a cigarette (what, maybe 3 seconds?) and hang up, which I’d consider akin to stubbing the butt in the ash tray. The time inbetween? Well, one thing is, in essence, a passive act while the other requires a division of attention between the road and a conversation, which is far more active. Regardless of what type of phone you’re using, it’s _always_ going to be more distracting than a cigarette. Trying to paint cigarettes as the big bad guy here is just silly. We know they’re evil & cancerous & all that, but please: this is about attention & talking takes more of that than smoking. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2006, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-smoking-while-driving-really-dangerous/344666/42 "2006-02-23T12:20:42Z")
It may be distracting to light/extinguish cigarettes while driving, but perhaps this is made up for by the heightened concentration nicotine gives the driver. ---
**Author:** ![rkts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@rkts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rkts)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-smoking-while-driving-really-dangerous/344666/43 "2006-02-23T23:19:29Z")
> [@Birdmonster](#): > > It’s just not the same. Talking to someone on the phone versus chatting in the flesh. You have to pay more attention to a disembodied voice than one sitting right next to you. I wondered the same thing **jjimm** did, so: do you have a cite for this? Or more generally, have there been any studies showing that hands-free cell phones are more dangerous than having a conversation with a passenger? > [@mks57](#): > > Yes, but that wouldn’t be practical. The driver should ask the passenger to be quiet so that he can concentrate on driving safely. If the passenger will not comply, pull off the road and resolve the problem. This is a joke, right? ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-smoking-while-driving-really-dangerous/344666/44 "2006-02-23T23:33:07Z")
> [@rkts](#): > > I wondered the same thing **jjimm** did, so: do you have a cite for this? Or more generally, have there been any studies showing that hands-free cell phones are more dangerous than having a conversation with a passenger? I didn’t, but now [I do.](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/01/030129080944.htm) Pertininent info there: > [@](#): > > Motorists are more accident-prone and slower to react when they talk on cellular telephones - **even hands-free models** - because “inattention blindness” makes the drivers less able to process visual information, University of Utah researchers found […] > > and > > In 2001, Strayer and colleagues received worldwide publicity when they used a joystick-equipped computer display to show that people talking on cell phones were more likely to miss or react slowly to simulated traffic signals than people who were not conversing on cell phones. Driving impairment was just as bad regardless of whether participants used hands-free or hand-held cell phones. That suggested the phone conversation itself was a distraction for motorists in addition to the distraction of handling the phone. > > \*\*The earlier study also found there was no impairment of drivers who either conversed with a passenger or who listened to the radio or to books on tape. \*\* (bolding mine) ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2006, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-smoking-while-driving-really-dangerous/344666/45 "2006-02-24T02:36:13Z")
> [@rkts](#): > > > [@mks57](#): > > > > Yes, but that wouldn’t be practical. The driver should ask the passenger to be quiet so that he can concentrate on driving safely. If the passenger will not comply, pull off the road and resolve the problem. > > This is a joke, right? No. I take safe driving seriously, and I find thoughtful conversations with passengers to be distracting. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2006, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-smoking-while-driving-really-dangerous/344666/46 "2006-02-24T21:04:47Z")
Well, **Birdmonster** , it’s bizarre, and I’d like to see more research, but until then I stand corrected. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2006, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-smoking-while-driving-really-dangerous/344666/47 "2006-02-24T21:50:03Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Well, **Birdmonster** , it’s bizarre, and I’d like to see more research, but until then I stand corrected. [/QUOTE] **jjimm** : Plenty of studies out there for this, most of which seem to support my hypothesis, but, in the interest of full disclosure, not every study does. I’d link them all, but there are simply too many. I googled “hands free cell phone safety study” and hit the jackpot. Like I said, I’d say two thirds seem to claim that hands-free cells are as dangerous as any other mobile and that those are usually more hazardous than in-car distractions. ---
**Author:** ![Werd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4491bb/32.png) [@Werd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Werd)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-smoking-while-driving-really-dangerous/344666/48 "2006-02-26T20:21:10Z")
Doesn’t the smoke get in your eyes and temporarily blind you sometimes? That can’t be good when your driving. For the smart-@sses, everything that distracts you from driving SHOULD be banned… even the rediculous stuff. And hey, it’s better than being a dumb-@ss… right? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-smoking-while-driving-really-dangerous/344666/49 "2006-02-27T01:48:36Z")
I don’t smoke, and I don’t own a cell phone, so I would shed no tears if either were banned for drivers. However, I can’t believe that smoking poises nearly as much accident potential as using a cell phone. I’ve seen tons of morons weaving in and out of traffic, crossing into the breakdown lane or over the line into the on-coming lane, pulling out in front of people without looking and not stopping for lights/stop signs, and you know, lots of those idiots were using phones, and almost were none smoking. You can’t ban driving like a moron, but taking the privilege of talking on the phone while doing so would probably help a lot. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-smoking-while-driving-really-dangerous/344666/50 "2006-02-27T12:50:19Z")
I had to take a drivers’ ed course a few weeks back to avoid paying a speeding ticket. The instructor’s point was that ANYTHING that distracts you from paying full attention to driving is dangerous, and anything that diverts your eyes from the road is dangerous. Reaching over to change a channel on a radio, putting a new CD in the player, putting the coffee cup in the holder, lighting a cigarette, picking up a cell phone, and so on. It takes only a fraction of a second of inattention to cause (or not be able to prevent) an accident. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-smoking-while-driving-really-dangerous/344666/51 "2006-02-27T16:30:22Z")
[QUOTE=Werd] Doesn’t the smoke get in your eyes and temporarily blind you sometimes? That can’t be good when your driving. For the smart-@sses, everything that distracts you from driving SHOULD be banned… even the rediculous stuff. And hey, it’s better than being a dumb-@ss… right? [/QUOTE] Smoke has never "temporarily blind"ed me while driving. The window open, plus traveling at high speeds, forces smoke out the window. And if you consider refuting your original hypothesis through evidence both anecdotal & researched to be smart-ass, well then, guilty as charged. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-smoking-while-driving-really-dangerous/344666/52 "2006-02-27T16:33:23Z")
[QUOTE=C K Dexter Haven] I had to take a drivers’ ed course a few weeks back to avoid paying a speeding ticket. The instructor’s point was that ANYTHING that distracts you from paying full attention to driving is dangerous, and anything that diverts your eyes from the road is dangerous. Reaching over to change a channel on a radio, putting a new CD in the player, putting the coffee cup in the holder, lighting a cigarette, picking up a cell phone, and so on. It takes only a fraction of a second of inattention to cause (or not be able to prevent) an accident. [/QUOTE] …which is all true. But, say, you lit up a smoke at a stop light? Not distracting. Nothing like a prolonged mobile conversation. Plus, expecting people to keep their hands and ten & two and not change the radio station or have a sip of water or coffee while driving is a little unrealistic, even if moderately unsafe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-smoking-while-driving-really-dangerous/344666.md?page=2)