# TExting while driver gets higher attention me thinks.



## dustyjay

"Bill Seeks to Ban Texting By Drivers"

"A bill introduced Wednesday in the Senate would require states to write laws to prohibit text messaging by drivers or risk losing 25 percent of their annual federal highway money."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...ewsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter

This is a very popular activity on the roads in my area, even on the Freeway. Scary to think that given the way people drive anyway they would put a larger portion of their attention on something other than the road and traffic. I think the penalties should be very stiff to include drivers license suspension and heavy fines.


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## JohnWill

Well, I'm still not buying that using hands-free is more of a risk than talking to someone in the car, but I agree that dialing or texting while driving should be against the law. FWIW, a few years back my daughter had an accident while trying to dial her phone around the corner from my house, so I know about this problem first hand.


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## wiley8425

I think all use of cell phones while driving should be banned. If you absolutely *have* to make that phone call, you can take a minute to pull over while you make it. Otherwise, it's obviously not important enough that it can't wait until you're in a safer position to do so.


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## Elvandil

JohnWill said:


> Well, I'm still not buying that using hands-free is more of a risk than talking to someone in the car, but I agree that dialing or texting while driving should be against the law. FWIW, a few years back my daughter had an accident while trying to dial her phone around the corner from my house, so I know about this problem first hand.


I can sort of see that since it takes a bit more attention and effort to visualize the person you are talking to when they are not present.

But clearly anything that takes your attention off the road is a risk. I remember in high school that my friends couldn't understand why I didn't want the music cranked up on a slippery road. They told me it was ridiculous that I thought I couldn't concentrate as well with music playing, yet dentists will play music to distract from pain. It must work to some degree.

But it has also been somewhat comforting to know that multitasking skills don't really peek until around 40. It is at that age and range that drivers are the best at talking on phones and texting while driving. Teenagers are great multitaskers, but they are unable to assign priorities to the tasks. Fixing hair and staying on the road get the same degree of attention.


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## JohnWill

wiley8425 said:


> I think all use of cell phones while driving should be banned. If you absolutely *have* to make that phone call, you can take a minute to pull over while you make it. Otherwise, it's obviously not important enough that it can't wait until you're in a safer position to do so.


Everyone is entitled to their opinion.  It's not really practical to pull to the side of the road when the phone rings on the expressway. I have hands-free capability in my cars, and simply pushing a button on the wheel will allow me to answer or hang-up. I use voice dialing to make calls, never have to remove my hands from the wheel, or my eyes from the road.


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## wiley8425

JohnWill said:


> Everyone is entitled to their opinion.  It's not really practical to pull to the side of the road when the phone rings on the expressway.


That's why all cell phones come with an off button. 



> I have hands-free capability in my cars, and simply pushing a button on the wheel will allow me to answer or hang-up. I use voice dialing to make calls, never have to remove my hands from the wheel, or my eyes from the road.


Good for you. That's still no excuse for those using handhelds while driving and I see them all the time. When I said I think all should be banned, I mainly meant handhelds. Hands free units are debatable, IMO.


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## JohnWill

Well, I tend to agree about people driving and dialing and manipulating the phone while they drive. I've almost gotten run down by a person in an SUV while she was screwing around with her cellphone and not watching the road. The only bright spot was, after the emergency maneuver to avoid hitting me, a cop happened to observe it and he snapped her up. I can only hope she got a nice fat ticket.


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## Elvandil

It's really a matter of judgment. I admit that I will answer (and dial) the phone when out on the open road with no one around. I'll skip the calls and ignore rings in traffic and where there are more people and cars around. Being in the range of improved "multitasking ability", I also devote far more attenetion to the road than to the call. The phone just gets dropped if need be. And phones should probably not be singled out, either. The same people who have accidents from phones would have one if you handed them an ice-cream cone, too.

But I don't believe that hands-free really improves the situation much. Attention is still elsewhere.

But how do you test peoples' judgment? Can there be a "judgment" endorsement on licenses?


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## JohnWill

Elvandil said:


> But I don't believe that hands-free really improves the situation much. Attention is still elsewhere.


In that case, you shouldn't ever have passengers in the car and talk to them. 



> But how do you test peoples' judgment? Can there be a "judgment" endorsement on licenses?


That would certainly free up most of the traffic jams we experience in large cities!


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## pyritechips

JohnWill said:


> *Everyone is entitled to their opinion*.  It's not really practical to pull to the side of the road when the phone rings on the expressway. I have hands-free capability in my cars, and simply pushing a button on the wheel will allow me to answer or hang-up. I use voice dialing to make calls, never have to remove my hands from the wheel, or my eyes from the road.


It's no longer an opinion. It has been determined by study that texting while driving is as debilitating as being intoxicated. Therefore one can conclude that, if one uses simple logic and agrees that equal crime dictates equal time, somebody committing such an offense should face similar penalties. Lose your licence. Go to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.


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## JohnWill

However, I wasn't talking about texting, I'm talking about a hands-free option in the car. IMO, this is no different that talking to a passenger in the car, and I can't see them outlawing that anytime soon!


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## ekim68

Maybe we should add more questions to the 'drivers license' test. See if they, those being tested, can drive with their instructor while texting..


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## Elvandil

JohnWill said:


> However, I wasn't talking about texting, I'm talking about a hands-free option in the car. IMO, this is no different that talking to a passenger in the car, and I can't see them outlawing that anytime soon!


We're just going to have to agree to disagree on that one. I think that from my own experience, I put more effort into visualizing the other party when on the phone than when they are present in the car, even if in the back when I can't see them. But, yes, talking to others is a distraction, too, and all distractions can't be removed. That is why judgment is so important and the ability to prioritize the distractions. One should not be so polite that he fails to stop mid-sentence to respond to a sudden stop sign, for example, no matter who he is talking to.


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## JohnWill

Well, this sounds more like a personal trait, when I have someone on the hand-free, I have no trouble concentrating on the road. I don't have to visualize a person to talk to him, so that issue just doesn't really register with me.


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## Elvandil

Really? I can see them walking around, sitting in whatever chair, and even what clothes they are wearing.  I guess that's why I never saw the point of video phones.


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## JohnWill

I suppose you don't use Skype either.


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## madreddog

I'm brand new on this forum and really should be looking for answers to my pc problems but I saw this post on the home page and felt I had to add my comments.
I am genuinely surprised to hear that it's not already illegal to text while driving in the USA as it is here in GB and has been for quite a while as a result of determined campaigns by the relatives of victims of text-driving related auto accidents.
There have been numerous examples of fatal collisions caused by inattentive drivers simply running straight into other vehicles or, in one particularly nasty case, mowing down a group of pedestrians who were waiting for a bus.
In GB at least, there is proof that texting while driving really does occupy too much of a driver's attention and is far worse than talking on a cellphone as it necessitates diverting your eyes from the road to read the phone screen. The police tell of seeing cars go past where the officers could only see the top of the driver's head because they were looking down to the cellphone on their lap!
I can only say to you guys over in the USA. Even if your lawmakers decide not to pass new laws prohibiting texting while driving, please don't do it for your own safety and that of other people.

Alan.


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## JohnWill

I have no problem with prohibiting texting or even holding the phone or dialing while driving. I just don't buy that talking on a hands-free phone is any more distracting than talking to a passenger. As far as seeing them, what about rear seat passengers? Are you going to turn around to see them?


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## Wino

I expect the next big thing will be a version of Dragon Naturally Speaking for cell phones so you can text hands free while driving. (if it isn't already available)


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## RootbeaR

Wino said:


> I expect the next big thing will be a version of Dragon Naturally Speaking for cell phones so you can text hands free while driving. (if it isn't already available)


Tht w77 b trcky 4 sur


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## madreddog

I think the problem arises in that a cellphone is capable of performing numerous different tasks. I too have no problem with talking on the phone but only when connected to a full car hands-free kit. Dialling numbers etc. is just as bad as texting so should not happen.
I am aware, having visited your fine country many times, that the majority of vehicles in the USA have automatic transmission and so tend to leave your drivers with a 'spare' hand, so to speak. The situation in GB is almost the reverse, where most vehicles are manual (stick shift I think you call it) meaning the 'spare' hand isn't spare any longer. Also we don't have many roads like yours that run dead straight or go on for 100's of miles so driving over here is usually a bit more busy.
I still see people every day who, in spite of the law, insist on continuing to use cellphones while driving but holding them in their hands. These are normally commercial travellers who think they are invincible...until they crash or get arrested. These people can also be seen trying to change tracks on car stereos, eat various food items, shave, apply make-up and read a map...All at the same time! I'm not arrogant enough to think my views or even British law will get them to change their habits. I just pray that I, my family and anyone I know isn't around when one of these idiots careers off the highway and ruins someone's life.


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## bp936

I can tell when someone is talking on the phone in a car, they sway, slow down, speed up, the mind can only handle one idea at a time.
It IS different, when some in the car is talking, the passenger sees the same situation as the driver. Way too often, someone nearly drove into my car, and it does not matter is they are behind me, beside me, their mind is not on the road. 
What the heck can be so important, that it can't wait till you stop??

In recent years too many teenagers and some others had fatal accidents because of cellphones. What did we do before cellphones? 
Just watch how people drive and you will be able to tell, who is on the phone, handsfree or not.
The only time I guessed wrong, was when a couple were fighting, hands in the air, not on the steering wheel, mad faces, completely ignoring stop lights ot forget to start on green.

There are enough other drivers on the road who shouldn't be driving.


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## RootbeaR

"Sgt. Kevin Locicero, left, and Capt. Bruce Elliot, of the Niagra County Sheriff's Department, examine a flatbed towing truck that drove into a swimming pool in Lockport, N.Y. on Thursday, July 30, 2009. Police said that the Buffalo-area tow truck driver was juggling two cell phones, texting on one and talking on another, when he slammed into a car and crashed into the swimming pool."
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Most-...:/090731/480/316a291a1bfe4224bf22a184604f2b0e

You'll never outlaw stupidity. Should fall under careless driving, never mind a new law that will give a slap on the wrist.


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## JohnWill

bp936 said:


> Just watch how people drive and you will be able to tell, who is on the phone, handsfree or not.


Sorry, I'm not buying that talking on my hands-free is any different than talking to a passenger, and I don't treat it any differently either. Next, we'll be trying to prohibit turning the volume up on the radio or changing the station. God forbid I should reach for my bottle of water while I'm driving, surely I'll be a major hazard there!


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## RootbeaR

JohnWill said:


> God forbid I should reach for my bottle of water while I'm driving, surely I'll be a major hazard there!


Illegal to drink and drive in Canada. 

You may hit a bump, spill it in your lap, then try to sue the store that sold you cold water.


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## JohnWill

RootbeaR said:


> Illegal to drink and drive in Canada.
> 
> You may hit a bump, spill it in your lap, then try to sue the store that sold you cold water.


Why, something shrinks up?


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## RootbeaR

JohnWill said:


> Why, something shrinks up?


Yes, causing great humiliation.


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## dustyjay

Here is a case to illustrate the point. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...ewsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter


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