# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/81 "2010-10-23T05:01:28Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > It drives me insane when people look at their passengers to talk to them. NOT NECESSARY. WATCH THE GODDAM ROAD! > > They do it in movies and TV all the time and I get incredibly tense. Yes, I know it’s TV but they are so egregious about it I’m always bracing for the accident I think they are setting me up for. This this this this this! I have yelled at the TV before “watch the road, you moron!” God it makes me twitch. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/82 "2010-10-23T05:28:39Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Forget the phone – I couldn’t make the lane changes fast enough even without looking at the phone. I don’t know if that means I passed or failed the test. I couldn’t do it fast enough either. I barely made it through the practice. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/83 "2010-10-23T06:17:45Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Is there data showing an increase in crashes and/or fatalities in the years when cell phones have become ubiquitous vs. pre-cell years? I’ve never seen it, but presumably it exists. [Yep](http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811379.pdf). In 2009 1,000 people died in the US, and 24,000 were injured in crashes where they know for sure cell phones were responsible for distracting a driver because the police indicated that as the cause. However, 84% of fatal crashes in 2009 involved driver distraction and some - an unknown amount - of those other crashes included cell phone use too but police reports didn’t single it out as the cause (see page 2) because there were other inattentive driving issues as well. ---
**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 23, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/84 "2010-10-23T06:49:13Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > This this this this this! I have yelled at the TV before “watch the road, you moron!” God it makes me twitch. This is the problem with talking on the cellphone while driving. As you talk, you try to visualize both the person talking _and_ what they are talking about. If they are giving directions, you are trying to memorize what is being said and/or visualizing where you will be going. When you listen to the radio, it is perfectly acceptable to only partially pay attention to it, but when you talk on the phone lifelong conditioning sets it-you focus attention on the person on the other end of the line because it is considered rude _not_ to. “Sorry Mom. I wasn’t paying attention to the instructions you were giving me-I was just using your voice as a pleasant noise while I was watching the road.” Yeah, _riiight_. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/85 "2010-10-23T13:16:56Z")
I can talk on a cellphone with a cig in one hand, the manual trans shifter in the other, the phone in the crook of my ear while negotiating heavy traffic _just fine_. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/86 "2010-10-23T13:58:32Z")
My “other” reason in the poll is that I think a lot of people falsely assume that quick conversations are safer than long ones. “Oh,” they would say, “but I only call to confirm the address of where I am going” but the problem is that they don’t realize that this can add up to a lot of phone time, and that calls aren’t always as quick as they intend. You call to confirm the address, and then the other person has a quick question for you, and then your answer prompts another quick question … and now this is a whole conversation that the driver still perceives as a quick, allegedly safe phone call. I find this maddening when I am a passenger in a car with a driver who is doing this. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/87 "2010-10-23T14:43:37Z")
It’s banned here, except for certain professions. So people still doing it are in one of two categories: 1. Emergency worker or other exempted profession, or 2. Self-entitled douchebag ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/88 "2010-10-23T15:16:03Z")
Ok to be honest I’m one of those people. I talk on the cellphone while driving. I don’t think it’s too distracting or unlike having a conversation with someone in the car. And I manage to do it fine any other time. But I drive slow in general. in general ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/89 "2010-10-23T15:20:34Z")
It should be illegal in all 50 states. Tests have shown it is as dangerous as drunk driving. It is wrong. Many TV programs have had their own tests and someone always says, I can do it. Then they go on a test track and prove nobody can. ---
**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 23, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/90 "2010-10-23T16:27:53Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I can talk on a cellphone with a cig in one hand, the manual trans shifter in the other, the phone in the crook of my ear while negotiating heavy traffic _just fine_. Where’s your coffee? What are you, lazy? ---
**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 23, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/91 "2010-10-23T16:29:55Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > It should be illegal in all 50 states. Tests have shown it is as dangerous as drunk driving. It is wrong. Many TV programs have had their own tests and someone always says, I can do it. Then they go on a test track and prove nobody can. There was a local news story like that recently; it was the same old story - “I didn’t think I had any problem talking on the phone while driving, but after failing the test miserably, I know better now.” ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/92 "2010-10-23T16:40:50Z")
I talk on my cellphone while driving, but I use a bluetooth headset. If I need to initiate a call, I’ll do it while I’m stopped at a light, or some other situation where the chances of my causing an accident are basically nil. If for some reason I don’t have my headset and need to talk on the phone, I put it on speaker. And I will end a call if traffic is bad, weather is bad, etc. I’ll also end a conversation with a passenger sitting next to me in the same situation. I’ve heard of the studies that say talking to someone on the phone is more distracting than talking to someone in the car, I just don’t believe them. I think the opposite is true. I can more easily ignore someone on the phone than someone in the car with me, but maybe I’m weird that way. ---
**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 23, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/93 "2010-10-23T16:48:12Z")
^^^ Hasn’t read the thread. ---
**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 23, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/94 "2010-10-23T16:49:30Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > I talk on my cellphone while driving, but I use a bluetooth headset. If I need to initiate a call, I’ll do it while I’m stopped at a light, or some other situation where the chances of my causing an accident are basically nil. If for some reason I don’t have my headset and need to talk on the phone, I put it on speaker. > > And I will end a call if traffic is bad, weather is bad, etc. I’ll also end a conversation with a passenger sitting next to me in the same situation. I’ve heard of the studies that say talking to someone on the phone is more distracting than talking to someone in the car, I just don’t believe them. I think the opposite is true. I can more easily ignore someone on the phone than someone in the car with me, but maybe I’m weird that way. Any comment on what I said in post #84? Also, would you change your mind if you were shown a video of you concentrating on the person on the other end of the line instead of the road? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/95 "2010-10-23T17:30:51Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > I’ve heard of the studies that say talking to someone on the phone is more distracting than talking to someone in the car, I just don’t believe them. I think the opposite is true. I can more easily ignore someone on the phone than someone in the car with me, but maybe I’m weird that way. what would change your mind on this? good quality research? a test administered to you personally? a near miss? getting a facefull of juggernaut? You _think_ the best cognitive scientist around have actually managed to conduct research that proves the _opposite_ of the truth. They are off by 180 degrees! Breathtaking. Again, maybe you are the special one, the evidence suggests not. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/96 "2010-10-23T19:55:18Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > I’m still shocked that anyone anywhere thinks it’s OK to send text messages while driving. Why not just read a book? Perhaps they read the bumper sticker that says “Honk if you love Jesus, Text if you’d like to meet him.” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/97 "2010-10-23T22:06:09Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > This this this this this! I have yelled at the TV before “watch the road, you moron!” God it makes me twitch. Me too. And I loved it when on Mad Men Draper actually did crash when distracted. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/98 "2010-10-23T22:30:14Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > It should be illegal in all 50 states. Tests have shown **it is as dangerous as drunk driving**. It is wrong. Many TV programs have had their own tests and someone always says, I can do it. Then they go on a test track and prove nobody can. I refuse to believe that. Texting maybe, but not talking on a cellphone, particularly a hands-free device. > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Where’s your coffee? What are you, lazy? My multitasking skills only go so far! ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/99 "2010-10-25T03:30:19Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > [Yep](http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811379.pdf). In 2009 1,000 people died in the US, and 24,000 were injured in crashes where they know for sure cell phones were responsible for distracting a driver because the police indicated that as the cause. However, 84% of fatal crashes in 2009 involved driver distraction and some - an unknown amount - of those other crashes included cell phone use too but police reports didn’t single it out as the cause (see page 2) because there were other inattentive driving issues as well. But that link shows that fatalities and other crashes have declined consistently since 2005. In other words, as cell phone use increases, we’re seeing fewer accidents, not more. This supports the idea that cell phones are simply replacing other driver distractions. ---
**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 25, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/100 "2010-10-25T03:35:39Z")
Your in-car cell phone can save your life if you use it to call in the crash you are about to have. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013.md?page=6)