Gosh, doncha hate those cell phone users?!

[Thru the Eyes of Ruby]

I have a theory about this. I feel like it is older generations that can't drive and chat. I'm 24 and I grew up learning to drive and talk at the same time. Granted during those early-learning-times I put down the nokia. Now I talk and drive constantly. I do most of my catching with friends and family up en route to work, or en route home. I've never gotten in an accident or even so much as grazed a curb before and neither have most of my friends. We all talk and drive. It's when I hop in the car with my mother and she picks up the phone that I'm like "why are we driving 20 mph down the highway?!?!"

I think texting and driving is bad news though.

[NY Smartie]

many states have hands-free cell phone laws because studies and testing showed a marked decrease in driving ability and concentration when using a distracting device like a cell phone.

what call is worth the lessened safety? not many, I would imagine.....

[SmartyPants25]

I'm 25 and live in California. I don't talk much on my phone in the car as it is, but find it a huge hassle to have to stick in the headphone in the jack and then to my ear, I don't have bluetooth and I'm not about to fork out 200 + to get one with bluetooth in order to get one of those alien like devices that most likely wouldn't fit properly in my ear anyway. All this I find much more of a distraction than picking up the phone and holding it to my ear. I heard of a study recently that it really doesn't matter if you're holding it or not, its often the talking thats the distraction, and that can happen if you're talking on the phone (hands free) or with a passenger! Whats next mouth gags?

[blackbeagle]

Originally Posted by SmartyPants25

I'm 25 and live in California. I don't talk much on my phone in the car as it is, but find it a huge hassle to have to stick in the headphone in the jack and then to my ear, I don't have bluetooth and I'm not about to fork out 200 + to get one with bluetooth in order to get one of those alien like devices that most likely wouldn't fit properly in my ear anyway. All this I find much more of a distraction than picking up the phone and holding it to my ear. I heard of a study recently that it really doesn't matter if you're holding it or not, its often the talking thats the distraction, and that can happen if you're talking on the phone (hands free) or with a passenger! Whats next mouth gags?

The problem is not the 'holding the cell phone'. The problem occurs when you actually LOOK at it to press the buttons or when you drop it. And who hasn't done that while they are driving.

I admit that I've been guilty of that in the past: Phone goes off...I'm trying to dig the thing out of my pocket...it slips and falls the floor...I reach and pick it up...all while trying to keep a hand on the wheel and on the road. We've all been guilty of this.

I'm glad the bluetooth device can alleviate some of that. IMHO, $200 is a small price to pay.

[rawlus®]

why do people fveel the need to put their real-world life on hold for the ringing of a phone? a phone's ring is a request for conversation, not a demand. rule the phone, don't let it rule you.

personally, i don't drop everything i'm doing just because it's convenient for someone else to want to speak to me over a phone. i'll speak to them when it's convenient for me, and it won't be at the ring of a bell i can guarantee you.

it is especially rude when someone is in the car with you and you ignore their presence to jump on a random phone call.

how our society has taken a few steps back in manners and decorum.

[SubSlr88]

Not too long back I had a guy come out at a stop sign when I was turning left in front of him. He was juggling a cell phone in one hand and a drink cup in the other. When he realized that I wasn't gonna stop so he could cut me off, he had to jam on his brakes. Cell phone one way - drink another, and the whole time he's hollering at me and waving his fists.
As soon as I cleared the corner, I stopped in his lane and stepped out of the car waiting for him. He quickly realized the error of his ways and just waved 'bye' to me and stayed in his vehicle.
The problem wasn't the cell phone or the drink. . . it was that his MIND was not on his driving. And that's what cell phone usage (and changing CD, reading a book - yeah, I've seen that) does to drivers - diverts the attention that they should be devoting to driving elsewhere.
To me, the ideal cell phone for a car would be the one that shuts down the ignition when you turn it on.
You wanna talk on the phone in a car, pull over and devote your full attention to talking.

[johnssc]

What about people eating, drinking, reading the paper, arguing/talking with someone in the car, not paying attention, lost, distracted because they had a death in the family...but no worries, there is a vigilante group out there somewhere dedicated to enforcing their own special brand of justice on folks doing what they don't like.

Who watches the Watchers, I wonder?

[HGB]

I have witnessed:
Woman putting on mascara on I-75 at 70+ mph
Man in a big truck shaving while driving
Young woman supporting a hot meal with a towel and using a fork to eat.
People smoking and holding a beverage cup at the same time
A perso yakking on the phone and using hand motions to emphasize a point
A young woman Texting while in a curve then leaving pavement half way.

By right one should drive a HUMMER 1 or similar with these idiots out there.

I think phones should work in a moving vehicle up to one minute so an emergency or important point can be addressed. Then the phone or what ever means available, should gradually produce an annoying sound to discourage more yakking.

Sometimes my thoughts also wander while driving and I think of slapping some of these people in the back of the head like a headmasters did to their apprentices years ago. Oh, I can dream...

[rawlus®]

who's a vigilante?

how about this. if you get in an accident while you're on the cellphone, you lose your license for 3 years and they take your car away permanently.
that way, nobody is getting punished unnecessarily. only the "bad" people are getting punished. although, that puts the rest of the motoring public at risk, going on "faith" that you are one of the rare few who can talk on the cellphone while also driving with awareness of your surroundings.

[johnssc]

Who decides? How do you prove it? What if you drop your egg mcnuthin and rear-end someone? What about the people who never clean the snow/ice off their windows or lights? How severely should they be penalized? What penalty for people who leave their high beams on, or their turn signals long after the turn is complete? Loud radios? horn blowers? Low riders? Dirty cars?

Who is "they" by the way who will be doing the confiscating? If you can't keep repeat DUI offenders out of cars what are you going to do about cell phone users? Is the punishment really fitting the crime here or are some of us just excised about our pet peeve and are therefore determined to extract the maximum punishment for what is now viewed as behavior unacceptable in others.

I can't wait to see what happens when the behavior of the Watchers is found to be unacceptable...

This country is slowly turning towards a sort of McCarthy Era on Wheels...or more likely a preference for a bit too much control.