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I am very happy to see that the police are now checking people involved in accidents to see who was using their cell phone....maybe this will help make these offenders pay a penalty for being so stupid and risking the lives of the public......When I see someone on a phone who is waiting to be let out in traffic I NEVER let them in because to be honest they dont deserve it. If they arent on the phone I am more than happy to .....Its all about respect.
Egobop, I'll go out on a limb to predict that we'll see a number of posters right on this thread who will claim that "I can do it just fine, it's all those other idiots..."
Seen it many times.
My buddies that are ex-fighter pilots seem to do just fine.... but yeah, most are BAD.
I live in the same city as the headquarters of Sprint. This means a VERY high incidence of cell phone ownership with free everything plans because they work for Sprint or thier dad\mom etc. do. The VAST majority of bad driving I see around here is cell phone related if it's during daylight hours...later at night the drunk drivers come out.
Other studies (I don't have links at the moment) have indicated that there is little difference between hands free and traditional type cellphone use regarding how distracting it is. Hands-free seems to be only marginally better.
OK, found a link:
Quote:
What may come as an interesting surprise is that, even if a cell phone is being used completely hands-free, the risk of having an accident doesn't seem to be reduced. Apparently, the act of conversing on the phone — not holding the phone to your ear — is the more dangerous distraction. Emotional conversations in particular seem to elevate risk. So hands-free or not, there's an increased risk to DWY.
Our new Subaru has a nice cell-Bluetooth implementation. Even this, which is controlled by a combo of voice recognition and steering wheel buttons, takes some getting used to and concentration, especially while learning. It would still be distracting to place a call in busy traffic. It is more complex that simply using the radio buttons.
Familiarizing one's self, setup, and entering names/numbers etc. should only be done when parked, or maybe by a passenger. I think it is better than a hand-held or over the ear or similar Bluetooth device, but not better than no phone at all. Most manufacturers are/will be providing this kind of setup. I suppose this will lead some to a false sense of security.
In many countries of the world, holding a cellphone up to the ear while driving is a severe driving offence.
Mercedes Benz and other forward thinking auto manufacturers have just about standardized the hands free system, which allowes one to place the cell in a holder and ring through the CD/Radio/Stereo system, and can be answered from the steering wheel, and numbers to phone can also be sought through the onboard computer panel from the steering wheel. I have seen this is a huge number of vehicles in America as a standard and "included in the price" of a new vehicle.
However, I am astounded how many people have this system and have NEVER used it, or don't know/want how/to install or make it function.
From personal experience, I have used this feature extensively and have found it to be practical, allowing me to have my hands free for manual stick shift, steering etc (I am a two hands on the steering wheel type driver)and have found it not only practical, but non-distracting and one can manage to have comms with the office/secretary/clients with little colateral effect on my driving.
The other advantage is that the car computer saves calls you don't want to answer, and you can attend to those less important calls when you stop, or are at the drive thru at the bank.
A number of Police forces are happy with this system and have been enforced by governments to permit the necessity of driving/cellphone users because of their practicality.
sorry, but I don't agree with this at all. it's the conversation that's distracting, not physically holding up the phone to the ear.
and what is the difference between the device you detail and simply putting a cell on speaker phone? that's hands free as well. So I have to press a button to answer the phone and either already have it on speaker phone or (at the most) simply press one more button to put it on speaker, this is just as good as pressing these buttons on the steering wheel.
"hands free" is just a convienent way for politicians and police to say we're doing something and for the cell phone/bluetooth lobby to still get what it wants.
I tend to disagree. The receiver microphone is in the rear-view mirror. The incoming calls come through the radio / CD player speakers for the driver to be able to discern/decide if he is in a "safe" situation to receive the call without traffic pressure which may affect his driving skills.
The steering wheel answer/call button is nothing more inconvenient than your cruise control/Stereo system controls and does not have you looking for your accept call on your phone, being distracted in the process.
I am not lobbying for bluetooth/hands free systems. It is up to the driver to take the decision depending on the state of traffic/hazards that are present.
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but yeah, most are BAD.
