Notice the last two. What really gets me pissed off more then anything is how it is legal to use a hands free device! I hate to break it to you, but holding the phone doenst make you a bad driver TALKING ON IT DOES YOUR DUMB PIECE OF SHIT! I drive with one hand ANYWAYS! It doesnt matter if i hold the phone in my hand or have a hands free device I will still be not as focused. I swear this country has the worst driving program in existence. They hand out drivers licenses like free condoms at planned parenthood.
None of those laws, with the exception of the hands-free cell law (which I understand is not a unique law to CA) strike me as that onerous. The Snopes article lays it all out in sober fashion, no need to repeat it all here. Whatever I think of using cell phones while driving, people are going to use them, so even a little less distraction is good; I’d guess most folks who frequently talk on cell phones while driving already have a hands free device.
Hey, I’m all for the hands free laws.
Better to have it in your ear and automatically pick up than you dig in your pocket while driving down the road.
I don’t in any way claim that I’m distraction free, but I do like the idea of limiting them.
Why don’t you pen them a nice letter and tell them how you feel?
* Cell phone conversations alone, without dialing or answering, change the way drivers see the world and make them more likely to miss traffic signs and other important information (see the special section papers by McPhee, Scialfa, Dennis, Ho, and Caird and by Atchley and Dressel).
* Using a speech recognition system to reduce distraction, such as speaking an address into a navigation system, can make the task easier, but it can still disrupt driving, particularly the driver’s ability to control the vehicle’s speed. Drivers slow down when entering information manually or by voice (see the paper by Tsimhoni, Smith, and Green).
* Information (such as telephone numbers) presented by voice competes for drivers’ attention to a far greater extent than when the driver sees the same information presented on a display. Horrey and Wickens found that auditory information led to poorer speed control than was the case with visual displays of the same information.
* The effect of distractions depends on when they occur. Interruptions to driving, such as answering a cell phone, are likely to be more dangerous if they occur during maneuvers like merging to exit a freeway (refer to the paper by Monk, Boehm-Davis, and Trafton).
And this information includes comparisons to non cellphone related accidents and deaths - the breakdown between distraction from the kids in the back, the dog moving around on your lap and under your legs, the eating and driving, the fighting with whoevers in the car, the non gps old fashioned map user tryin to read and drive -and for that matter, the drivers who think they can and will drive while reading a book, documents, newspaper, etc.
I require more hard facts and comparisons before I completely buy in to this one. Until then, it remains as “idiot drivers” and the rest of us must pay for their stupidity.
Sorry, as a California driver, this law is a godsend. Every retard I encounter who is either weaving all over the freeway endangering others or driving 20 mph below the speed limit in the left lane is invariably holding a phone up to their ear. I myself find talking on the phone held up to my ear far more distracting than using a headset. In my experience, driving a familiar route while talking on a headset is not distracting at all. An unfamiliar route is a different story, as is holding the phone up to my ear.
Sorry, Giraffe, I’ve seen people using hands free devices doing the same things as the people hold cell phones up to their ears. They weave, the speed up and slow down, etc. People just become engrossed in the conversation and pay less attention to the road.
They’re instituting a hands free law here in Washington state too. It goes into effect 1 July of this year. They’ve already outlawed texting while driving (thank goodness).
Speaking only from experience, I agree that talking on a phone at all is a distraction, but it seems to me that it is more of a distraction to have to hold it. And yes, I drive with one hand on the wheel as well.
BTW Taters, how is the texting law enforcable? “You can’t give me a ticket, I was checking my calendar, not texting!”
I don’t know about other headsets, but my Bluetooth is set up to automatically pick up phone calls. I hear the familiar beep in my ear, and I’ll say hello. If that’s not easy, I don’t know what is.
And you’ll have to forgive me Taters, but in what context do you view these drivers using their hands free? If you’re in your own vehicle, then I’d say you were just as distracted as the driver you’re watching. I can understand glancing over and seeing someone having a phone to their head, the colors are flashy and all. But I wouldn’t have the time to see details such as a small device around their ear.
New York’s been hands-free for years - in theory, anyway, since I still see people holding phones when they think there isn’t a cop or a trooper around to see them. :rolleyes: It’s really no big deal to go hands-free, and I bet for a lot of people it does make a difference in how safe they are on the road.
I normally drive one-handed too (with my right hand draped over the stick), but if I’m making a turn or something unexpected happens, I have both hands available right away. Ever watch someone holding a phone trying to make a turn? They scrunch up one shoulder trying to keep the phone to their ear, which doesn’t work, or they try to change phone hands, which is awkward, or they try to do the turn with one hand only, and that’s also awkward. And if they had to make a sudden maneuver, they aren’t likely to toss the phone so that they have both hands firmly on the wheel.
The difference between talking to a passenger and talking on a phone hands-free is that the passenger is aware of the driving conditions and will naturally pause and adjust their conversation to match the changing demands put on the driver. Someone on the other end of a phone just blithers on which requires that you either shut them out or you shut out your surrounds.
I can definitely see how talking on the phone, even with a hands-free device, can be distracting for some people. Me, I’ve spent most of my life driving on California freeways, so I can talk on the phone and still remain vigilant against all the other idiots on the road trying to ram me with their cars, especially if I’m not trying to do any navigation. My personal experience tells me that something about holding the phone up to the ear increases the distraction factor. I don’t know why, but it does.
No cite, but I recall an incident where some kids (cheerleaders?) were killed because someone was texting. The police got her cell phone records and proved that the time of the crash *someone *was sending text messages, and it was the driver’s phone.