This study shows what many of us predicted: cell phone talking causes the same driving problems regardless of "hands free" versus non-"hands free". But the professor who conducted the study added -- without including any data to support him -- that talking with a passenger is safer. How does he know this? Because, when taking to an adult passenger, the driver "has an interest in driving safely. He can say 'I should stop talking.'" Does this even make sense? And why didn't he include such a scenario in his testing?
I can imagine a good reason for why an in-person discussion would be *more* distracting: the allure of looking over to the passenger, particularly one who is attractive. And what of the possibility of a passenger contributing something to the conversation which a cell-phone partner can't: "What's this? Look at that!" I am very curious to learn real facts comparing cell phone discussions with passenger discussions, cell phone distractions with other distractions (grooming, reading, eating, etc.), and the negative impact of cell phones with positive (distress calls, directions keeping people from getting lost in high-crime areas, etc.).
This article assumes a legal implicaion for studies showing a problem with cell phones. That is the Big Govt view: laws to protect people against choices that smarter people disfavor. This failed logic here would cause us to outlaw other normal behavior. Sounder logic would cause us to abandon laws in such situations, and permit people to make their own choices, and pay for their own consequences.
5 comments:
I think rationale behind the theory that a driver conversing with someone seated in the car with them being safer than conversing with someone a cell phone, even a hands-free phone, is this;
That as a general rule - not always obviously - but as a general rule, the passenger will know when to shut the hell up and let you drive while in heavy traffic, bad weather, etc., whereas the person on the phone has no idea what kind of traffic situation you're in - unless you say "I gotta go, the traffic's getting bad" (which try and do on the rare occasion when I do talk on the phone while driving) - so they'll continue yapping, you'll continue to try and listen to what they're saying rather than paying attention to the traffic situation around you and there you have the issue.
It's a big problem. It's one of my biggest pet-peeves at the moment. It never seems to fail anymore that whenever I get cut off, or nearly side-swiped, or almost rear-ended (I actually was a few years ago by some dumbshit talking on his cell), miss making left at a light, or whatever, it's because some dumb-ass is on their freaking cell phone, probably talking about something completely unimportant like what's for dinner tonight.
Cell phones have become the bane of human existence. At least in the free world.
Let me go on record as saying that I'm the last person on the face of the earth who wants more stupid laws passed, but this is a real safety issue and something needs to be done about it. I just don't know what.
Six: We can rationalize a conclusion, but only experimentation can factually confirm or falsify the assertion. You may notice poor driving associated with cell phone use, but I have noticed no correllation. I see poor driving all the time, and cannot associate it with cell phone use. Tail-gating has become normal, and surely independant of cell phone usage, based on my observations. Reckless driving by people deliberately driving like Steve McQueen seem to me independant of cell phone usage.
Meanwhile, I know that cell phone communication has steered me out of trafficky situations many times. And I can imagine other means by which cell phone improve safety, such as decreasing eagerness to end an otherwise boring drive, or to communicate information electronically rather than by speeding (When does Home Depot close? As I drive at 8:52 I can learn via cell phone that it closes at 10:00 rather than speeding to make it there by 9:0. Or I can call to communicate that I'm late.). When I'm driving home from work having a conversation on the phone, I'm less eager to get home as fast as possible, and much more tolerant of traffic, since I'm getting my conversation out of the way while driving, knowing I won't have to take the call at home.
I'm a big advocate of cell phones while driving. They shift to commutes what would otherwise interfer with my home time.
Good points. They're obviously an asset and these days you're certainly at a disadvantage, especially as a businessperson, if you don't have one and don't take/make calls while driving. But I still think they're real a hazard.
Six: And I think that people must make their own choices about how to use the cell phones, hamburgers, coffee, and newspapers in their cars. Included in this desire of mine is minimizing the number of actions that permit police to stop and scrutinize a citizen.
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