I think cell phone use by drivers should be banned

[NE2]

If you want to talk on the phone, take the fuckin bus.

[bugo]

I could not agree more.

[PHLBOS]

Do you actually own a cell phone yourself? 

Do you own or use any form of hands-free device (Bluetooth or other)?

If yes to one or both of the above-questions, have you disciplined yourself to either pull over or only make & receive calls while parked (notice: I didn't say stopped)?

Just asking.

[hotdogPi]

I think cell phone use that involves more than just talking should be banned while driving. (Like games.)

[Molandfreak]

Completely agree, even with hands-free devices. The problem is that the person on the line who isn't driving cannot physically see what is going on around you and adjust accordingly.

Do you actually own a cell phone yourself? 

Do you own or use any form of hands-free device (Bluetooth or other)?

If yes to one or both of the above-questions, have you disciplined yourself to either pull over or only make & receive calls while parked (notice: I didn't say stopped)?

Just asking.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes. It isn't rocket science. An exception is possibly warranted for 911 calls, but that's it.

[Brandon]

I may be in the minority here, but I respectfully disagree.  I think penalties should be assessed if you are stupid enough to get into an accident with it, even if the accident is not your fault.  However, outright banning is just dumb.  You cannot enforce it effectively, and why should you even try?

[Molandfreak]

I may be in the minority here, but I respectfully disagree.  I think penalties should be assessed if you are stupid enough to get into an accident with it, even if the accident is not your fault.  However, outright banning is just dumb.  You cannot enforce it effectively, and why should you even try?

No offense, but that's like saying you're in favor of legalizing murder because it cannot 100% effectively be enforced.

[J N Winkler]

I may be in the minority here, but I respectfully disagree.  I think penalties should be assessed if you are stupid enough to get into an accident with it, even if the accident is not your fault.  However, outright banning is just dumb.  You cannot enforce it effectively, and why should you even try?

I wonder how enforcement works in Japan, which has a comprehensive ban on cellphone usage while driving and is apparently the only jurisdiction in the world with such a ban (though several US states have similar bans for commercial drivers, school bus drivers, and certain groups of the young or recently licensed).

Moving on to PHLBOS' questions:

Do you actually own a cell phone yourself?

Yes.

Do you own or use any form of hands-free device (Bluetooth or other)?

No (with > 90% hearing loss in both ears, I can't use the audio functions of a cell phone, whether hands-free or not).

If yes to one or both of the above-questions, have you disciplined yourself to either pull over or only make & receive calls while parked (notice: I didn't say stopped)?

Yes.  There have been times when I have stopped to wait at a light and have wanted to pick up my phone to consult a map or tracking app, but I have always resisted.  (Kansas has a texting ban, and while I am not sure it also covers these other activities, I prefer to act out of an abundance of caution.)

My own view is that while ordinary drivers should not be using a cellphone when driving, the case for a formal ban is less clear.  It has been suggested on this forum that such a ban would pose an unusual hardship for taxi and car-service drivers who rely on cellphones to stay in touch with dispatch.  Also, if a ban is justified on the basis that spoken communication with a party not actually present in the vehicle distracts the driver and so poses an unreasonable risk to road-users in general, then what is the justification for continuing to permit emergency-services drivers to remain in radio contact with their dispatchers?  (I realize that "They are trained to do it" can always be cited as an alibi, but does the training they receive actually improve their ability to resist distraction in a way that can be objectively measured?)

I don't think difficulties in enforcement should necessarily be treated as an obstacle to a cellphone ban, given the other traffic laws we have on the books that exist primarily to define norms of civilized driving behavior and which nobody expects to be observed and enforced 100% of the time.  The drunk-driving laws are a classic example--as a society we expect full compliance but we don't ensure that it happens by, e.g., requiring all new cars to be sold with an ignition interlock.

[Brandon]

I may be in the minority here, but I respectfully disagree.  I think penalties should be assessed if you are stupid enough to get into an accident with it, even if the accident is not your fault.  However, outright banning is just dumb.  You cannot enforce it effectively, and why should you even try?

No offense, but that's like saying you're in favor of legalizing murder because it cannot 100% effectively be enforced.

How is this comparable to murder?  It makes a nice strawman, but it's one that should be burned.  It's more comparable to Prohibition.  Sure, alcohol is bad for you, but trying to enforce the ban is just nuts.

[NE2]

Alcohol is "bad" for you. Driving without paying attention is bad for other people. Not that awesome people deserve to be protected.

[bugo]

Do you actually own a cell phone yourself? 

Do you own or use any form of hands-free device (Bluetooth or other)?

If yes to one or both of the above-questions, have you disciplined yourself to either pull over or only make & receive calls while parked (notice: I didn't say stopped)?

Just asking.

I used to occasionally answer the phone while driving to say "I'll call you back, I'm driving" but I no longer do so.  I realized that I was being dangerous and I now feel bad about it.  Texting and driving is a big nono.

[bugo]

Alcohol is "bad" for you. Driving without paying attention is bad for other people. Not that awesome people deserve to be protected.

Akyhal can be bad for other drivers if you are driving drunk.

[Molandfreak]

Alcohol is "bad" for you. Driving without paying attention is bad for other people. Not that awesome people deserve to be protected.

Akyhal can be bad for other drivers if you are driving drunk.

Getting drunk in itself has no immediate effect on others. Getting drunk and driving has an immediate effect on others.

Using your cell phone in itself has no immediate effect on others. Using your cell phone and driving has an immediate effect on others.

[Brandon]

Alcohol is "bad" for you. Driving without paying attention is bad for other people. Not that awesome people deserve to be protected.

Why do we need more laws?  We have laws on the books, let's use them and stop criminalizing everything.  Both you on the far left and far right want to criminalize everything.  STOP IT!

[NE2]

So you agree that it should be banned, just believe that existing laws already ban it?

[kkt]

Do you actually own a cell phone yourself? 

Do you own or use any form of hands-free device (Bluetooth or other)?

If yes to one or both of the above-questions, have you disciplined yourself to either pull over or only make & receive calls while parked (notice: I didn't say stopped)?

Just asking.

Yes, no, yes.

Occupying the driver's hand is only a small part of the problem.  To politely carry on a conversation you must be paying attention to it.  Drivers are excused from paying full attention when talking to a passenger in the car, because the passenger should be able to see when the road demands the driver's full attention.  Someone on the other end of the phone call can't see that, and drivers attempt to compensate by paying more attention to their calls all the time.

[corco]

I may be in the minority here, but I respectfully disagree.  I think penalties should be assessed if you are stupid enough to get into an accident with it, even if the accident is not your fault.  However, outright banning is just dumb.  You cannot enforce it effectively, and why should you even try?

I think this is absolutely right- assess a penalty if you talk on your phone, hands-free or not, when you get into an accident. Attempting to actively enforce a blanket ban will harm those who are capable of doing it safely (even if you disagree that it can be done safely, you have to acknowledge that some folks are better at multitasking than others and pose less of an accident risk when on a cell phone) and generally divert police attention from more important matters (while increasing the "police state" feeling society already is starting to feel).

[bugo]

Do you actually own a cell phone yourself? 

Do you own or use any form of hands-free device (Bluetooth or other)?

If yes to one or both of the above-questions, have you disciplined yourself to either pull over or only make & receive calls while parked (notice: I didn't say stopped)?

Just asking.

Yes, no, yes.

Occupying the driver's hand is only a small part of the problem.  To politely carry on a conversation you must be paying attention to it.  Drivers are excused from paying full attention when talking to a passenger in the car, because the passenger should be able to see when the road demands the driver's full attention.  Someone on the other end of the phone call can't see that, and drivers attempt to compensate by paying more attention to their calls all the time.

Evidence?

[corco]

Do you actually own a cell phone yourself? 

Do you own or use any form of hands-free device (Bluetooth or other)?

If yes to one or both of the above-questions, have you disciplined yourself to either pull over or only make & receive calls while parked (notice: I didn't say stopped)?

Just asking.

Yes, no, yes.

Occupying the driver's hand is only a small part of the problem.  To politely carry on a conversation you must be paying attention to it.  Drivers are excused from paying full attention when talking to a passenger in the car, because the passenger should be able to see when the road demands the driver's full attention.  Someone on the other end of the phone call can't see that, and drivers attempt to compensate by paying more attention to their calls all the time.

Evidence?

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=cell+phone+distraction+conversation&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C27&as_sdtp=

Pretty much every scientific study on the matter supports that conclusion

[bugo]

Alcohol is "bad" for you. Driving without paying attention is bad for other people. Not that awesome people deserve to be protected.

Why do we need more laws?  We have laws on the books, let's use them and stop criminalizing everything.  Both you on the far left and far right want to criminalize everything.  STOP IT!

This is not a victimless crime.  The extremists want to ban things that don't hurt anybody but themselves.  Talking on a cell phone puts MY life in danger and I have a problem with that.  I can't count the number of times I've nearly gotten into an accident because of somebody talking on their phone.  It happened twice today in about an hour.

[hbelkins]

Using your cell phone and driving has an immediate effect on others.

Not if you can walk and chew gum at the same time.

[formulanone]

If you want to talk on the phone, take the fuckin bus.

I could not agree more.

What a bunch of crappy-crap-crap.

[NE2]

Using your cell phone and driving has an immediate effect on others.

Not if you can walk and chew gum at the same time.

From the same school of science as "it snowed today so climate change is a hoax".

[akotchi]

Do you actually own a cell phone yourself? 

Do you own or use any form of hands-free device (Bluetooth or other)?

If yes to one or both of the above-questions, have you disciplined yourself to either pull over or only make & receive calls while parked (notice: I didn't say stopped)?

Just asking.

Yes; very recently yes (my new car has it); and at first no, but I no longer answer calls while on the road.  If the phone rings a lot, then I pull off and find out what it is about.

I see folks on the phone behind the wheel all the time, and it bothers me.  It is yet another distraction to a driver that occupies not only the mind but also at least one hand.  This endangers the driver, his passengers and anyone else in proximity.

Problem is, I also see this in pedestrians as well, looking at their phones while obliviously entering crosswalks.  I have encountered folks in my building who will go from the cafeteria to their office without looking up from their phone, whether occupied with texting or a game.

The addiction to cell phone usage (and all the capabilities they now have) is affecting many aspects of life, not all of them positively.  I cannot remember any more how things were before cell phones came into being.

Sorry . . . I'll get off of my soap box now . . .

[hbelkins]

Using your cell phone and driving has an immediate effect on others.

Not if you can walk and chew gum at the same time.

From the same school of science as "it snowed today so climate change is a hoax".

Sorry that your abilities are limited so that they don't allow you to talk and drive at the same time. I'm grateful that I don't have that limitation.

Seriously... When I'm driving out of my local area, or on the freeway, I usually have a headset on. If I don't feel comfortable talking and driving in a certain situation, I don't.

And I can assure Jeremy that if he ever meets me on the road and I am talking on the phone, I will pose no danger to his health or to the structural integrity of his car. Just because others do doesn't mean that I will.