# Why (in your opinion) are people still talking on cellphones while driving? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 22, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013 "2010-10-22T15:30:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/21 "2010-10-22T18:03:33Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Research disagrees wiith you about this. I haven’t seen any research that makes the distinction I’ve drawn, have you? (Honest question, I’d really like to know.) ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/22 "2010-10-22T18:03:44Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > But drivers commuting the same route every day aren’t making any decisions, they’re just keeping an eye out for the unexpected. I think a person can do both that and talk on the phone – I know I can. I am troubled by this statement. A driver is CONSTANTLY making decisions based on the traffic pattern, regardless of the familiarity of the commute. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/23 "2010-10-22T18:04:28Z")
I do not think driving while talking on a cell is dangerous…for me. I can’t speak for everyone. But the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that state who outlaw handheld cell phone talking while driving do not experience fewer accidents. [http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/state&id=7247321](http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/state&id=7247321) Furthermore, if talking alone is distracting, as indicated in some studies comparing phone conversations with passenger conversations, what difference does it make if you’re using a hands-free device or not? ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/24 "2010-10-22T18:06:52Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > I haven’t seen any research that makes the distinction I’ve drawn, have you? (Honest question, I’d really like to know.) Stoid is [correct](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V6F-4W1M42Y-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=637cd698c04a2e57da034d152e1b4435). ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/25 "2010-10-22T18:08:16Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > I am troubled by this statement. A driver is CONSTANTLY making decisions based on the traffic pattern, regardless of the familiarity of the commute. Yes, but it’s more of a background process. Take the phone out of the equation: if you’re trying to find your way to an unfamiliar location while listening to NPR, you’re going to occasionally get caught up in looking for streets and trying to guess if you’re going the right way and realize you’ve completely missed the last few minutes of what was said. Whereas if you’re on your commute, you can be 100% vigilant for someone braking or swerving in front of you while still not missing a word. I think that shows the degree to which the one type of driving engages your brain far more actively than the other. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/26 "2010-10-22T18:08:29Z")
Anecdote – I was stuck in a traffic jam once, to the point where the speedometer never got off the little peg it rests on, and some old dude in the next car over told me to get off the phone before I killed someone. It was awkward because then we were sitting next to each other for 5 minutes or so with our windows down. Needless to say, I didn’t hang up. There are times when driving requires more attention than others, and while I see people all the time talking on the phone when they shouldn’t be, a blanket ban seems a bit silly to me. If it’s necessary to get people to be aware of their distraction level, then so be it, but it’s not the root of all evil. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/27 "2010-10-22T18:10:49Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > Stoid is [correct](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V6F-4W1M42Y-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=637cd698c04a2e57da034d152e1b4435). Correct about what? The link you give states that only a single study of 40 people actually had people driving out in the real world, and even then none of them were driving over a route they drive daily. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/28 "2010-10-22T18:10:58Z")
To those of you that think that you are capable of talking on the cellphone while driving-I wish i could show you a video of you doing just that. The way you turn your head slightly when you talk as you trying to visually the person on the other end of the line, sometimes towards the bluetooth, but more often towards the empty passenger seat. It’s a subconscious effect brought on by being told as we grew up that it is impolite not to talk directly to people. Some people(including my sister-in-law) have the same uncontrollable urge to look at the face of the passengers they are talking to \*while they are driving \*. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/29 "2010-10-22T18:14:44Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > –snip-- Some people(including my sister-in-law) have the same uncontrollable urge to look at the face of the passengers they are talking to \*while they are driving \*. And so some people shouldn’t drive while talking to a passenger? ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/30 "2010-10-22T18:14:48Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > I do not think driving while talking on a cell is dangerous…for me. > > I can’t speak for everyone. But the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that state who outlaw handheld cell phone talking while driving do not experience fewer accidents. > > [http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/state&id=7247321](http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/state&id=7247321) But that doesn’t prove that cell phone use is safe or has no effect. I would assume that many people just ignored the ban, and it’s entirely plausible that the accident rates of people who complied were cancelled out by even riskier behavior by people doing the more difficult task of trying to use their phones while concealing them at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/31 "2010-10-22T18:15:06Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I saw an article somewhere recently that noted that insurance companies have not found the level of accidents that one would expect to follow from the findings about cell-phone distraction. I would suspect that because people lie about it being a cause of the accident. No one is going to admit that they were talking or texting when the accident occurred…there going to say that the other dude ran out in front of them. The investigation of major accidents where they look into the cell phone records of the crash victims is where they discover that the cell phone was in use or that texts were being sent at the time of the accident. It’s not from self admission. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/32 "2010-10-22T18:16:26Z")
> [@Wilbo523](#): > > The investigation of major accidents where they look into the cell phone records of the crash victims is where they discover that the cell phone was in use **or that texts were being sent** at the time of the accident. It’s not from self admission. (bolding mine) I’m still shocked that anyone anywhere thinks it’s OK to send text messages while driving. Why not just read a book? ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/33 "2010-10-22T18:19:52Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > But that doesn’t prove that cell phone use is safe or has no effect. I would assume that many people just ignored the ban, and it’s entirely plausible that the accident rates of people who complied were cancelled out by even riskier behavior by people doing the more difficult task of trying to use their phones while concealing them at the same time. Apparently the only people who complied with the law, then, were those who weren’t affected by talking on their cell phone in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/34 "2010-10-22T18:23:05Z")
It’s not the talking that gets ya. It’s the manipulation. It’s the texting and the dialing and the hanging up. That’s the distracting part. I firmly believe that it’s the eye attention, not the aural attention, that makes cell driving dangerous. I drive while talking. It doesn’t make for distracted driving; it makes for distracted conversations. I (and usually the other person) have to problem with that. If I’m in street traffic, I wait for a red light to dial. If there’s a complicated merge point coming up, I tell the person to hang on a second, or I hang up entirely. On the freeway, so long as I’m not changing lanes, there’s not a whole lot to pay attention to anyway. So there’s really no danger there. It’s really not that hard to drive. I don’t get what the big deal is. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/35 "2010-10-22T18:25:00Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > (bolding mine) > > I’m still shocked that anyone anywhere thinks it’s OK to send text messages while driving. Why not just read a book? When I used to commute in the Big Smoke, I occasionally saw drivers reading newspapers in rush hour traffic. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/36 "2010-10-22T18:25:56Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Correct about what? The link you give states that only a single study of 40 people actually had people driving out in the real world, and even then none of them were driving over a route they drive daily. Just that hands-free doesn’t really seem to make a difference at all. I get your point about the route, and I could see how it helps, but I don’t know how you can argue that that doesn’t still put you below an acceptable threshold of attention. I’m not even sure a person on a phone can adequately monitor dynamic traffic patterns around him/her even while driving in a completely straight line, but I don’t have time to look for research to confirm or refute that. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/37 "2010-10-22T18:28:43Z")
I answered “I need to talk on my cell while driving” however it’s worded, but that’s what I think other people think. I don’t talk on my cell while driving, I’ll find a parking lot if I have to make a call. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/38 "2010-10-22T18:28:52Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > \ > And I dislike the fact that the poll choices are framed in the first person.\ Agh, you’re right - I was looking at it from the perspective of someone putting themselves in the shoes of a cellphone driver, but using “they” would have been clearer. > [@Giraffe](#): > > I haven’t seen any research that makes the distinction I’ve drawn, have you? (Honest question, I’d really like to know.) As far as I know, virtually all the studies that have been done show that there is no difference in distraction levels between handheld and handsfree cellphones. Here is an interesting point, though - virtually all laws banning cellphone use while driving ban handheld phones, not handsfree phones - no big surprise that the level of accidents caused by distracted driving don’t go down after a law that doesn’t address the real problem is enacted. > [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > And so some people shouldn’t drive while talking to a passenger? Funnily enough, that was the other thing that my co-worker said, that talking to a passenger is the same as a cellphone conversation. If I recall correctly, the studies show that that isn’t true, either - a person in the car with you will react differently and so will the driver. But some people indeed shouldn’t talk to passengers while driving - I was driving behind a guy one morning who was talking with his passenger, and glancing at the road! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/39 "2010-10-22T18:28:57Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Apparently the only people who complied with the law, then, were those who weren’t affected by talking on their cell phone in the first place. I don’t quite follow. The point is that even if their accident rates did go down, the riskier habits from the non-compliers could offset them. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/40 "2010-10-22T18:34:58Z")
When in the car, I use a bluetooth rather than hold the cellphone, however, even then I am very circumspect when it comes to driving while talking on the phone. If it is a call from a friend about dinner, I’m OK (or at least I think I’m OK), for the level of concentration focused on the talk is minimal – similar to if I were chatting with a friend who was in the car with me. If the call is about business, then I pull off the road, for the level of concentration that I have to focus on the talk is significant. If there is a moderate or high volume of traffic, then I don’t talk, and instead return the call once I find a place to pull off. Quite apart from safely focusing on driving, there is a lot to be said for using driving time as time to refresh one’s self by not having to deal with calls. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013.md?page=3)