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Comments as of Thursday, May 08, 2008 03:53 PM
Just a few days ago I passed a sheriff deputy driving on River Road with a cell phone to his left ear while typing on his dash mounted computer with his right hand. It is very common to see police talking on a cell phone while driving. (Probably talking to their wife.) These are the same people that will soon be giving the rest of us tickets for the same thing. I can't wait to see
pictures posted on the Internet of one of our "pro ban leaders" talking on a phone while driving!
(We all know they do it.)
I just saw a car ad on TV that has factory installed phone controls built
into the steering wheel. If talking on cell phones is outlawed, will these
new cars be banned from the jurisdictions that have phone bans? It could be considered
by big government a way to hide criminal activity. (talking while driving)
11-13-2007 Today on the Bill O'Reilly radio
show, Bill said when he sees someone talking on
a phone in traffic, he moves away from them. Then a few sentences later he
said he likes to follow trucks. One of the reasons he gave for that is that they
know where the cops are and they slow down. This is only a guess, but it sounds like
Bill feels that speeding is safer than talking on a phone. That's an
interesting spin on driving safety.
1-24-2008 By now, most of us know that it's the conversation, not
holding something in your hand that is distracting. But misguided government
officials continue to push for hands-free driving laws. Once hands-free phones while driving are required by law,
what will be next? Laws requiring hands-free smoking, hands-free McD's coffee, hands-free
Circle K soda... Maybe you should get a ticket anytime you're caught driving with
anything in your hand. Where do you draw the line between personal freedom and
big government control?
2-12-2008 Will GPS navigation screens in cars be outlawed next?
Or are the big government lawmakers saying that reading GPS screens while
driving is safer than talking on a phone?
2-29-2008 I saw an ad once for a book holder that snaps onto your
steering wheel. Maybe this hand-free device should be required by law for
anyone who wants to read a book while driving. Ok, that's a little rediculess,
but so is the notion by lawmakers that a hands-free device magically makes
talking on a phone less distracting, or less distracting than yelling at the
kids in the back seat. Maybe mom's driving with kids should be outlawed, too.
5-8-2008 Driving while talking on a cell phone is just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated… would be BUSTED if the tests were done correctly.
The common (faulty) procedure for this test is to 1. drive on a course as a control, 2. drive on the course while talking on a cell phone while being asked complicated questions, 3. drive on the course while intoxicated. The results for test 2 and 3 are usually similar.
There are three (3) missing tests. 1. Driving the course while having a normal relaxed conversation on the cell phone. 2. Driving the course while having a normal relaxed conversation with a passenger (not on a cell phone). 3. Driving the course while being asked the same complicated questions by a passenger (not on a cell phone). 4. One more test that should be run is driving the course while holding a cell phone to your ear with no conversation just to confirm that holding the phone is not the problem.
You’ll find that driving with a normal conversation on a phone or with a passenger is similar to the first control test. And driving with the intense questions from a passenger will be similar to driving with the intense questions over the phone. The conversation, not the device causes the distraction.
Also, one major difference is that a phone can be put down if a challenging driving situation arises, the intoxication can’t be turned off at will. If the tests are all run letting the driver decide when to talk and when to concentrate on driving (like in real life) there will be even more contrast between the test drives and driving intoxicated.
The “incomplete” driving with cell phone test is what is BUSTED!
http://mythbustersresults.com/episode33#comment-3175
6-30-2006 The point is... where do you draw the line? Where do the benefits overcome the costs? Driving in itself is not safe. It kills people. It'd be safer if everyone flew everywhere. But they'd have pilots, and it's not like we're going to get professional taxi drivers for every person's morning commute. If you want to solve car deaths fix the driver, not the car. If we went only by studies to secure our roads, then middle-aged black women and asians would never drive (I know that sounds terribly racist, but then so was the study I guess). The freedom to drive is not one to be restricted, but rather appreciated. If people want to make mistakes, let them. The benefits of cell phone use in cars is immeasurable, the price of life is invaluable, the appreciation of danger is essential. Make wise decisions, not stupid laws.
http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/30/cellphone-talkers-as-bad-as-drunk-drivers/
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