Ban Cellphones in Cars????

we got along for years without cell phones, business got done, things got accomplished, groceries and other items got bought, lots of non-driving time to talk and text in my opinion

The hands-on ban has been around in the UK for several years. A lot of people try to get away with it. I am no angel, and I have certainly noticed erratic driving from some doing the same. On balance the law would seem to make sense.

I intentionally save long conversations for the car because when I'm not driving I can make my time more productive by working online. Driving is otherwise unproductive dead-time. I find the ability to conduct business and get other conversations done while driving a very productive business and personal tool. But I use a headset so I don't have to hold the phone to my head, and more importantly, I'm a very experienced and cautious driver, so I never have any problems.

I find having passengers in the car far more distracting than my cell phone and I also find that changing stations on the radio and getting change out for tolls more interfering with my visual contact with the road.

And I see a lot of drivers out there who can't drink coffee at the same time they drive, and I see women putting on their makeup while they drive.

I think there are a lot worse distractions out there than cell phones and with far less productive value.

TEXTING while drive is a whole other matter. Anything which forces your eyes off the road while driving will be the primary risk factor when driving. Auditory distractions are inevitable and low risk in comparison. Likewise, distractions that occur because you are thinking about something else (like a conversation) are something which different individuals handle with a different amount of ease. But most experienced drivers that I know don't think about the road even when they are just driving alone. Most experienced drivers drive on "brain auto-pilot" a vast majority of the time.

The problem with cell phones is that people are pushing the buttons, not that they are talking on them.

If it can be shown that you were on a cellphone at the time of an accident, you should be charged with, at a minimum, reckless driving and, if death(s) occurred, vehicular homicide.

I do not like distracted drivers.
I had a friend in Tulsa who liked to drive....and talk to the people in the back seat......while making eye contact!

Joe(made me a nervous wreck )Nation

I absolutely agree with you, Joe. I don't think that it is the role of the government to ban something which MIGHT happen. I do think though, that if there were tough laws about the negative results of cellphone use in a car, it might give drivers pause about what they are doing when they are distracted. Also, if cellphone use were involved in less serious accidents, I think that it would be helpful if the insurance companies charged a stiff penalty in those cases, or even dropped insurance coverage.

I also agree that there are many other things that are just as distracting as using cellphones while driving. I would like a buck for every parent who turned around when driving to yell at her kids.

I don't buy for a second that having a passenger talking to you in the passenger seat is comparably as dangerous as using one hand to drive while holding a phone in the other, or cradling one in your neck and using two hands. One instance has your reaction time slowed by inadequate steering leverage, the other has your range of visibility severely lessened.

I've been run off the road, nearly rear ended, and seen more than one red light run by people that had a phone in their hands. There is a very valid reason for the cell phone ban and I absolutely back it.

How do you feel about people using headsets to talk instead of holding the phone?

I find a headset conversation no more distracting than a passenger, probably less so (depends on the passenger).

As I've said on hawkeye10's post on this subject, I support the ban. I used to talk on my phone (usually for no more than a minute or so) while driving, but I've found it distracting enough to me that I've since quit doing it.

As I said in the other thread, I think cell phone devices should become standard equipment in cars and should not operate unless the vehicle is in Park or the speedometer is at zero.

I am absolutely for banning cellphnes while driving.
When safty belts were introduced the arguments against them were just the same as now - the government should not make laws in case somthing happens.
To talk in your cellphone causes 25% of all accidents on the roads in USA.
It is six times more of a risk to send a sms than drunkjen driving ( which I personally don´t believe, but I guess there are less drunken drivers than cellphone talkers)
Already 2002 Hovard Center came with analiesed the risks.
2600 people die every year because they use the cellphone while driving. The also found out that 330 000 got injured because they drove and used a cellphone.

Att prata i mobilen orsakar 25 procent av alla olyckor på vägen. Det är sex gånger större risk att sända textmeddelande som att fylleköra.

Redan 2002 kom Harvard Center med en riskanalys. De kom fram till att 2600 människor dör varje år pågrund av att de använder mobilen under det att de också kör bil. De kom fram till att 330 000 blir skadade under det att du använder din

mobil och kör bil.

I think all people should be given regular driving tests throughout their lives and if they can't pass them they should lose their license. They should do this every 4 years when the licenses are renewed.

Some people live in rural areas and drive on quiet country roads and empty highways most of the time. Cell phones while driving are a necessary part of daily communication for a lot of business people these days.

If they need to ban something I think they should ban bad driving.

Yes ... we should ban passengers in all automobiles, using the same logic.

You think I'm driving recklessly when I talk on my cell phone using my blue tooth ear receiver? Or only if I'm involved in a wreck? What if I'm involved in a wreck and the other car is completely at fault? What if I had passengers in my car, and I was listening to one of them talk at the time of the wreck? What if I was listening to talk radio? What if I was looking at a road sign to see if I missed my exit?

Agree 100% I get a lot of phone calls done during my afternoon commute, using my blue tooth. If you cannot safely operate a vehicle while using a blue tooth on a phone call, you should not be driving a car, IMO.

I have a hands free contraption as part of my car. And yes, I do find it distracting. So very few people have my cellphone number, and when the few who have call me, I tell them that I am on the road, and will call them back later. If the call is important, I will pull over, if I can. I would never simply chat on a cellphone while I was driving. I would never dream of texting while driving.

To me there is a much larger issue. I don't want the government telling me how to lead my life.

I was wondering when this would come up.

It doesn't seem to matter much WHAT the situation is, this response always seems to come up. We have laws and rules for days that people just do because they're laws and rules. Try to enact one more and this comes up.

Bottom line for me is, some laws the government enacts are bad or have an ulterior motive, some will actually do good and are being done for our safety.

A blanket 'I don't want the government telling me how to lead my life' is a throw-away statement. The entire point of a government is to serve and protect it's people. It does this by enacting laws and policies. Period. The entire premise of Democracy is so we can elect people that will enact those laws and policies we agree with, but it all boils down to is the government will always tell us how to lead our lives in one form or another.

Most folks who say that don't mind at all when it is the government telling other people how to lead their lives...

The proposed law isn't the gov't telling you how to live YOUR life, it's telling other people that they can continue to live their lives with less worry that you'll do something stupid and kill them.

While you may 'never dream' of doing these things, other people do on a regular basis, and it causes accidents, injuries and deaths. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, as a cyclist, I see poor driving behavior displayed constantly by people who are fiddling with their phones. I've seen accidents caused by these people, but not INCLUDING these people (typically when they drift into another lane and someone else over-corrects to keep from getting hit) and they aren't recorded anywhere. I figure the true amount of damage caused by distracted driving is far higher than the statistics show. So, this is just a common-sense regulation to protect ME from others.

Cycloptichorn