# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/121 "2010-10-25T19:56:54Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Doesn’t this just prove that some people are better at it than others? Some people are overly distracted just talking to a passenger. Some people can talk and drive just fine. Can the same be true for cell phone talking? 93% of US people think they are above average drivers. > **[Illusory superiority | Driving ability](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_superiority#Driving_ability)** > > Svenson (1981) surveyed 161 students in Sweden and the United States, asking them to compare their driving skills and safety to other people's. For driving skills, 93% of the U.S. sample and 69% of the Swedish sample put themselves in the top 50%; for safety, 88% of the U.S. and 77% of the Swedish put themselves in the top 50%. > McCormick, Walkey and Green (1986) found similar results in their study, asking 178 participants to evaluate their position on eight different dimensions of driving skill... Unfortunately the large majority of people will be fooling themselves rather than being correct. Otara ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/122 "2010-10-25T20:07:54Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > However, as I age I’ve noted that my wife talking to me while I am trying to make a difficult turn or get through heavy traffic changing lanes does distract me. As I age I’ve noted that my wife whipping out her boobies while I am trying to make a difficult turn or get through heavy traffic changing lanes does distract me. It’s funny because it’s true. \Boobies! Hahahahahahahaha! \ > [@Voyager](#): > > When we get a population of 80-year-old cellphone talkers - we better start making cars out of rubber. When Google perfects their [car that drives itself](http://www.cnbc.com/id/39594637/Google_Cars_Drive_Themselves_In_Traffic) we won’t have to worry about the elderly on cell phones. ---
**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 25, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/123 "2010-10-25T20:29:39Z")
> [@Otara](#): > > 93% of US people think they are above average drivers. > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory\_superiority#Driving\_ability](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_superiority#Driving_ability) > > Unfortunately the large majority of people will be fooling themselves rather than being correct. > > Otara But some people actually \*are \*above average drivers. Not everyone is of the same driving skill. I suspect that, indeed, there are people out there who can safely drive while talking on their cell phone. Whether or not you are able to judge your own skill is another matter all together. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/124 "2010-10-25T21:07:45Z")
There may be, but there are two issues. Firstly are they _so much better_ that their risk rises to better than an average driver when using a mobile? The research suggests no. Its the same argument as ‘Im a good driver so I can afford to drink more than the average person’. Secondly, theres the issue my cite shows, that if you left it up to individual judgment, you’d end up with many people doing it when they shouldnt be. Which would mean the overall risk on the road would rise immensely because people are such poor judges of their driving ability. Now if you’re arguing for people to do an objective test in order to prove that they are skilled enough drivers to be allowed to use mobiles Im all for it. I suspect the results would be good for more than a few laughs. Otara ---
**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, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/125 "2010-10-25T21:16:21Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > People get KILLED driving, you know! Fewer and fewer each year, lately. ---
**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 25, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/126 "2010-10-25T21:34:52Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > I didn’t read the entire thread and can only speak for myself, but I talk on my cell phone while driving, a lot…snipped honesty for brevity and the strange thing is, because you _do_ recognise the distraction it causes you, you are probably safer than the person who thinks it doesn’t affect them at all! You probably take all sorts of extra effort to mitigate the effects. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/127 "2010-10-25T22:08:26Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > But that link shows that fatalities and other crashes have declined consistently since 2005. Most of the laws banning cell phone use and texting have been enacted in the same timeframe. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/128 "2010-10-26T17:55:21Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > Many (most?) people don’t operate that way, and any secondary task distracts roughly equally from the primary task. As such, it’s probably a good idea that most people don’t use a cell phone when driving. But I think for those whose brains work like mine, it is probably a not a big deal for them either, possibly even beneficial. > > That said, I will confess that anything that requires visual attention or more than a trivial amount of manipulation, notably texting, is definitely more dangerous because it necessarily distracts from what I need to drive. I’ll admit I’ve done that at times, but when I do, I’ll wait until I’m at a light or stopped in traffic before I do it. I feel the same way. Anything that takes my eyes off the road is a _bad idea_, which is why I am eternally grateful for buttons on my steering wheel. I turn the radio on right after I buckle my seat belt and flip through a CD or the radio and adjust the volume using the buttons beneath my fingers. I get very upset when people root around their cars while driving, or look at the radio buttons or change the temperature or air flow settings, because they are literally looking AWAY from the road. Texting is out of the question. But my mind grows distracted when driving. If traffic is bad, that’s enough to maintain good attention. But otherwise I know part of my mind goes fuzzy. Talking on the phone with a hands-free earpiece snugly in my ear with, say my mom (who does 80% of the talking anyways) actually helps me focus better. I’m someone who studied through college with a little music on the background. Sure, different strokes for different folks, and often the people who have nearly gotten into accidents near me or with me often are on their phones, but never have I seen someone on a hands-free device in the situation, though there are plenty of stats showing it doesn’t matter. I do not pick up the phone while driving; I will initiate the conversation, earpiece in ear after the seatbelt buckling and such. Anyways, I see far more slow/abrupt/poor drivers that are elderly than I do on cell phones. And far more that are dangerous because they’re yelling at their kids than are on cell phones. ETA: I would love to take a driver’s test to lower insurance rates, etc. Research has shown that the elderly get into the 2nd most accidents, after teenagers. ---
**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 27, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/129 "2010-10-27T03:39:47Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Exactly. The primary reason people do it is because they think they’re special and they know what they’re doing, and they know they’re perfectly safe. They’re exactly the same as every drunk who thinks they’re they’re just fine to drive. The people who say they drive perfectly and without any impairment while yapping on a cell phone are exactly the same ones who weave like drunks and take 30 seconds to notice the light has changed. Do you ever speed? Cut across lanes at the last minute when you realize that you’re about to miss your exit? Reach in the back seat to grab a dropped sippy cup? Fumble on the floor to pick up your directions that fell? All of these things are potential accidents, and you and other posters can climb up on a high horse and pretend like you always keep 2 hands on the wheel and check your mirrors every 7 seconds, but I’m not buying it. Everyone makes compromises in the name of comfort and convenience, otherwise you’d see people pulling over to flip through radio stations or change CDs. I really don’t think the conversation here should be, “Are people good at talking while driving,” but rather, “Are people good at risk assessment when it comes to cell phones.” I _know_ that talking on the phone distracts me, and I adjust accordingly. Same way I adjust my driving when I need to reach in the back seat to get a teddy bear or figure out how to get the defroster going in a rental car. I wait for an appropriate time, I slow down, I pull over, and/or I cease the activity altogether depending on the circumstances. Sometimes I feel perfectly safe talking for extended periods, other times I won’t even reach down to turn off the ringer. But **steronz** , you say, you’re just overestimating your abilities. You’re a danger! Perhaps. But by sharing the road with me for the last umpteen years you’ve been tacitly tolerating my decision making when it comes to when and how I choose to handle my distractions. Why the sudden change of heart? ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/130 "2010-10-27T05:50:52Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > ETA: I would love to take a driver’s test to lower insurance rates, etc. Research has shown that the elderly get into the 2nd most accidents, after teenagers. I took a defensive driving course (well, a couple–one through work) and it did lower my insurance. My kids took an AAA-sponsored defensive driving course that was hands-on, and it lowered their insurance (i.e., my insurance) a LOT, which really helped since they were boys. Also, it worked. They had no wrecks. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/131 "2010-10-27T06:20:32Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I took a defensive driving course (well, a couple–one through work) and it did lower my insurance. My kids took an AAA-sponsored defensive driving course that was hands-on, and it lowered their insurance (i.e., my insurance) a LOT, which really helped since they were boys. Also, it worked. They had no wrecks. I took the Triple A defensive driving course as well, but it was all classroom; one long, long Saturday. It did lower my insurance premium though, which is the main reason I took it. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/132 "2010-10-27T11:54:48Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > As of June 10, 2010 pursuant to Washington state law, “[a] person operating a > motor vehicle while \*\*h\*\*\*\*olding a wireless communication device to his or her ear \*\*is guilty of a traffic infraction.” RCW 46.61.667 as amended by SSB 6345. According to press reports, if you set your phone to “speaker” and hold it in front of your mouth, you’re not in violation. So, not sure about California, but that’s not a stupid way to view the law in Washington. Clarified where I live > **[ABC News - Trusted Source of Latest News & Headlines](https://www.abc.net.au/news)** > > Follow the latest news headlines from Australia's most trusted source. Read in-depth expert analysis and watch live coverage on ABC News. ---
**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 27, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/133 "2010-10-27T12:16:41Z")
I took a defensive driving course, but cell phones were not discussed, for there were no such things in those days. Radio phones were uncommon, so it just wasn’t an issue. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/134 "2010-10-27T13:49:07Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I took a defensive driving course (well, a couple–one through work) and it did lower my insurance. My kids took an AAA-sponsored defensive driving course that was hands-on, and it lowered their insurance (i.e., my insurance) a LOT, which really helped since they were boys. Also, it worked. They had no wrecks. Huh, I actually didn’t know these existed after driver’s ed for teenagers. I’ll look and see if my AAA office offers them. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/135 "2010-10-28T03:27:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Why do you think people are still talking on cell phones while driving? Because they haven’t been killed or seriously injured in an accident. Yet. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/136 "2010-10-28T08:02:36Z")
Are you talking about a cell phone held in the hand or one with a hands-free kit? The former has obvious problems; the latter should be no more dangerous than talking to a passenger, though I always pull over or ask the caller to ring back later. ---
**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 28, 2010, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/137 "2010-10-28T13:14:30Z")
^^^Also hasn’t read the thread. ---
**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 28, 2010, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/138 "2010-10-28T13:15:38Z")
My local CAA (AAA to you guys) offers driving courses to everyone; I’d be surprised if yours doesn’t, **lindsay**. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/139 "2010-10-28T13:34:54Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Think about it, in all jurisdictions, the COPS are allowed to get on the radio, talk on their cell phones, check their pagers, while driving around. They probably weren’t born knowing how to do it, but THEY LEARNED. In my jurisdictions cops above town level always work in pairs and if you see a town cop alone, he’s not on wheels. If they’re in a car, the copilot handles the communications; if they’re on bikes, they move to the side of the road to talk to each other or call HQ. In Spain the code for “I can’t talk now” is to take the call and hang up without talking, which I’ll do if traffic conditions allow for it (flip phone open, hit big button, flip closed). But usually if I get a call while driving I’ll just ignore it; on those times when I was expecting a call and got it while driving I’ve stopped on the side of the road to do so. I refuse to get a hands-free because I know some people who’d feel free to call me at any time if they knew I had one, whereas now they avoid calling me when they know I’ll be driving or they just send a “missed call”. Last time it was on the side of the highway and someone reported it to the cops, who very sternly informed me that you’re not supposed to stop there unless you have an emergency; when the head cop asked whether I thought the call was important enough to lose 3 points over it and I answered “if it gets me a 2-year contract after 15 months off work, and since my points are intact, yes - sorry to have caused a disturbance, but yes”, he grunted and let me go with a reprimand. If my piggybank hadn’t been as empty as it was, I wouldn’t have taken it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013/140 "2010-10-28T13:44:07Z")
Oh, and my idea of “traffic conditions allow me to flip the phone open, hit the button and close it” are along the lines of “I’m on a three-lane highway in a location where the speed limit is the standard for that kind of road,” (ie 120km/h; if you’re on a stretch of highway and the speed limit is 40km/h, I want you to be focused on driving with every sense you own and an extra one borrowed from the bank) “there is no incoming traffic” (gas stations, exits) “and the weather is fine”. I’m on the paranoid side when it comes to cellphones on cars, but given how many cellphone-talkers (including some on hands-free) I’ve seen weaving from lane to lane, I’d rather be. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-your-opinion-are-people-still-talking-on-cellphones-while-driving/558013.md?page=8)