How bad is the distraction using a cell phone vs. a c.b. radio? (GPS, versus)

[Deez Nuttz]

While I do not like the idea of people who drive around with a cell phone wedged in their damn ear and unable to go the speed limit, stay straight in their lane, etc....how do you feel about someone who uses their c.b.?

A guy in my shop seems to think you are just as much distracted with a c.b. as with a cell phone in your ear. (NOTE: blue tooths and hands free's don't count)

Quite honestly I don't ever seem to recall anyone with a c.b. having trouble with distractions like cell phones.

[miu]

I think that cellphone users get more involved in their conversations. And I think that old school cb radio users are extra careful about putting their driving first and using the radio in a more formal careful way with keeping their full attention on the road. CB lingo is short and efficient, cellphone users just babble. Truckers also are better about using their mirrors and turn signals while driving.

Car people and cellphones are a bad combination because I believe regular people start talking on their cellphones like they are home in their living rooms. They start taking more of their attention away from their driving. Then they skip using their turn signals.

[Deez Nuttz]

That's what I was sort of thinking, that most c.b. users keep it at a minimum for the most part because there's others bird-dogging that channel or trying to use it, whereas a cell phone is just rambling on and on and on....

[mm34b]

I've read that there's not much of a difference in inattentiveness accident rates between handheld and hands-free wireless use when driving. As pointed out earlier, it's about the actual conversation, not the device.

I like being entertained by drivers who have to turn their head to talk to the person sitting next to them. Anyone ever been behind someone like that? Remarkable.

I've also noticed folks trying to query their GPS units for directions and other information while driving. Now that's scary.

[miu]

My cars are GPS and cellphone free zones. And I keep my radio on at a moderate volume so I can still hear the traffic noizes around me. I've always felt that cars with really loud music on was a safety hazard.

[miu]

If my boyfriend is driving around and sees a driver talking on their cellphone with their windows down, he tries to yell loudly at them to get off their phone in hopes that the person they are talking to can hear him. lol

A few times, his sister has called him up to chat and when he found out that she was driving, he would scold her and promptly hang up.

[Stripes17]

I was on the Baltimore Beltway one day when a cell phone yakker almost side-swiped me in my lane. So since her windows were down, I drove next to her with my front bumper at her passenger door depressing my horn for awhile. Interrupted her conversation, so she hung up and flipped me off. I chalked it up as one point for the good guys!

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by Deez Nuttz

While I do not like the idea of people who drive around with a cell phone wedged in their damn ear and unable to go the speed limit, stay straight in their lane, etc....how do you feel about someone who uses their c.b.?

A guy in my shop seems to think you are just as much distracted with a c.b. as with a cell phone in your ear. (NOTE: blue tooths and hands free's don't count)

Quite honestly I don't ever seem to recall anyone with a c.b. having trouble with distractions like cell phones.

Great question here, Deez Nuttz

Possibly, and I emphasize the term POSSIBLY, it has something to do with the age and experience of the actual driver using the two devices plus the type of usage.

A CB user is, more often than not, a Trucker with many miles of driving under his belt and doesn't usually "chit chat" for long periods of time and definitely doesn't do Text Messages and/or games.

As for Cell Phone user . . . quite often a young and extremely inexperienced driver (definitely not always but . . . ) who is not only Chit Chatting but quite often Text Messaging while Eating and Drinking plus a few other miscellaneous tasks.

[JFRRACING]

Originally Posted by Deez Nuttz

While I do not like the idea of people who drive around with a cell phone wedged in their damn ear and unable to go the speed limit, stay straight in their lane, etc....how do you feel about someone who uses their c.b.?

A guy in my shop seems to think you are just as much distracted with a c.b. as with a cell phone in your ear. (NOTE: blue tooths and hands free's don't count)

Quite honestly I don't ever seem to recall anyone with a c.b. having trouble with distractions like cell phones.

I talk on a cb and i find it far less distracting than a cell phone. i do agree, that people get much more involved on a phone. AND DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND THEM

[Drover]

It just so happened that I used to be married to someone who studied communication for a living and I was privy to some of her research. The bottom line is cell phones are much more distracting and involved than CBs because of the "fully duplexed" nature of the cell phone versus the "call and response" nature of a CB -- that is, it takes a lot more brain processing power to conduct a conversation where the parties can talk over each other at any time versus when you have to sit there and wait for someone to say what they want to say and let go of the button before you can respond.

And it doesn't matter if the phone is Bluetooth or hands-free or whatever. It is the nature of the communication that is distracting, not the fact that you're physically holding a cell phone. That's why I hate these stupid "hands-free cell phone" laws. The level of engagement -- and the distraction it causes -- is no different. In fact it may be more difficult to disengage yourself from a conversation on a hands-free device in an emergency versus a hand-held device where you can just drop the phone if you have to. Talking on a cell phone while driving should either be banned or it shouldn't, because trying to split the difference with "hands-free" laws achieves nothing.