[grapico]

Originally Posted by ferret111

Not really. When doing all three of those activities, I still have both of my hands on the wheel.

And why wouldn't you have both of your hands on the wheel while on the cell phone...
I am guessing you don't know how modern smart phones work with a bluetooth attached, you should read my post again. I can lay my cell phone down, never touch it, and execute all of those commands from headset. So, again, how are they different?

[grapico]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

Frankly, I think the idea of conducting other activities while driving is just plain stupid.

Then you better advocate pure silence in the car. Why not install a camera which monitors the rotation of your head?

[grapico]

Originally Posted by boxus

A conversation with someone in a car is different than on the phone, record yourself both ways and you can listen yourself. When a person is in the car with you, there are many situational pauses in which the person with you understands as they are observant as well. The person on the phone is not aware and will constantly blab for your attention, or think the phone signal dropped and will be forcing a "hello, hello?" on you to get you to reply. This directs your attention from driving to addressing the concerns of the person on the phone.

Better ban listening to talk radio then, they don't stop talking either. You guys have extremely weak points. I'm sure there are plenty of husbands and wives and kids out there that never shutup. Can somebody please tell me how using a hands free cell phone where you NEVER touch the actual device (hence hands free) is any different than listening to a radio, talking to another passenger, etc.

[boxus]

Originally Posted by grapico

Better ban listening to talk radio then, they don't stop talking either. You guys have extremely weak points. Can somebody please tell me how using a hands free cell phone where you NEVER touch the actual device (hence hands free) is any different than listening to a radio, talking to another passenger, etc.

A person is not obligated to engage with the person on talk radio as they are when talking to a person on the phone, I made that very clear in my post.

Touching the device, except for dialing and sms, is not the problem, a person can drive just fine touching a cell phone, merely holding it to your ear does not distract anyone.

It is the conversation engagement that is the distraction, and the lack of situational awareness by the person the driver is talking to on the phone. This is why kids are a distraction in the car versus adults, it is because the needy attention of kids and their lack of situational awareness while driving.

So, to bounce a question back to you; how does merely hold a phone to your ear (assume the phone is off and no conversation is occurring) distract your driving?

[ferret111]

Originally Posted by grapico

And why wouldn't you have both of your hands on the wheel while on the cell phone...
I am guessing you don't know how modern smart phones work with a bluetooth attached, you should read my post again. I can lay my cell phone down, never touch it, and execute all of those commands from headset. So, again, how are they different?

Okay, so? I'm quite familiar with bluetooth technology. I don't have a problem with hands-free devices. That being said, headsets are far from being ubiquitous; few people use them with the exception of middle-aged men.

[grapico]

Originally Posted by boxus

A person is not obligated to engage with the person on talk radio as they are when talking to a person on the phone, I made that very clear in my post.

Touching the device, except for dialing and sms, is not the problem, a person can drive just fine touching a cell phone, merely holding it to your ear does not distract anyone.

It is the conversation engagement that is the distraction, and the lack of situational awareness by the person the driver is talking to on the phone. This is why kids are a distraction in the car versus adults, it is because the needy attention of kids and their lack of situational awareness while driving.

So, to bounce a question back to you; how does merely hold a phone to your ear (assume the phone is off and no conversation is occurring) distract your driving?

Now we are getting somewhere, I agree with you, but to suggest hands free cell phone use is MORE distracting than engaging with passengers, would mean you need to ban having a conversation with passengers as well, otherwise the law does not make sense. You can't have it both ways, once you ban hands free, you would need to regulate all other equal distractions. I am not posturing that talking on a cell phone isn't distracting whatsoever, it is, but it is no more distracting than what people already do and is perfectly legal. To ban hands free cell phone would mean, to be fair, you need to ban all forms of distraction while in the car which are equally distracting. This creates a huge slippery slope. If a cop sees somebody glance their head sideways real quick to talk to their kid, do they immediately write them a ticket?

Your last question, it takes one of your hands off the wheel.

[grapico]

Originally Posted by ferret111

Okay, so? I'm quite familiar with bluetooth technology. I don't have a problem with hands-free devices. That being said, headsets are far from being ubiquitous; few people use them with the exception of middle-aged men.

That is quite untrue actually and is both an ageist/sexist gesture, I will disregard that...But lets go there just for kicks, I suppose middle age men as you say, should be the only people allowed to do it, as they are using the technology as it was meant to be used. Everybody else holding the phone while driving, they need to be issued a ticket. I would have no problem with that.

[boxus]

Originally Posted by grapico

Now we are getting somewhere, I agree with you, but to suggest hands free cell phone use is MORE distracting than engaging with passengers, would mean you need to ban having a conversation with passengers as well, otherwise the law does not make sense. You can't have it both ways, once you ban hands free, you would need to regulate all other equal distractions. I am not posturing that talking on a cell phone isn't distracting whatsoever, it is, but it is no more distracting than what people already do and is perfectly legal. To ban hands free cell phone would mean, to be fair, you need to ban all forms of distraction while in the car which are equally distracting. This creates a huge slippery slope. If a cop sees somebody glance their head sideways real quick to talk to their kid, do they immediately write them a ticket?

Your last question, it takes one of your hands off the wheel.

This is just one of those areas where we have to agree to disagree. As a note, I am not advocating a cell phone ban, there are laws in the books for enforcing distracted drivers no matter what they are doing.

For the last item though, many poeple drive with one hand on the wheel, I have always done it and everyone I have ever met does. There re people who drive with both hands on the wheel? It is not a steering wheel is difficult to turn. One armed poeple and people with a broken arm drive just fine, merely having one hand off the steering wheel does not do anything in regards to distracting a driver.

[Jo48]

I don't have a hands free device and I am from where the first cell phone ban came from in the country (Suffolk County, NY) at least 10 or 15 years ago. If my phone rings while I am driving, I let it ring. If it is important, they can send me a voice mail message which I will pick up when I am at my destination. My family knows that I will do this.

[Rolo555]

Im sorry, but most of the people who I see on the road texting while driving are young females. They can wait 15 mins when they get out to talk to the best friend or their boyfriend.