You Vent About It...! It's becoming a larger issue that DUI's...
The death of our Narcissistic Society...
Nothing Pisses me off more that to see some spoiled 17 year old Fcking Up while driving because they think its cool to dive their( paid for by their parents, Spoiled Turds) gas guzzling SUV and gossip on the phone for the whole duration of their trip, And then they get mad when they almost hit you when they're at fault, Go Figure...!
A national law needs to be passed to ban using a cellphone without a hands-free device.
Be well,
Bryant
Bryant: while driving you mean, I assume.
I hope so. I think we can use cell phones that aren't hands-free in most other times.
Is it still legal to use a hand held phone over there?
Quote from: yanksfan6129Bryant: while driving you mean, I assume.
I hope so. I think we can use cell phones that aren't hands-free in most other times.
Yeah, while driving.
Quote from: TruveloIs it still legal to use a hand held phone over there?
Yes, it's still legal. The only state that I know that has a ban on hand held cell phones while driving is California.
Be well,
Bryant
Handsfree only is hard to enforce, you can only get ticketed when a cop sees it. Much like taking pictures, changing CD's or smack your kids :sombrero:
^^ Very good point. Sometimes, you've gotta smack your kids hard, though. (Just kidding, but serious at the same time.) :-D
Be well,
Bryant
Doesn't New York also ban cell phone usage without a hands-free device?
I wouldn't mind see that kind of law as long as it is for ALL kinds of distracted driving! I've known women who've changed clothes while driving! (and no I was not there to watch!)
Or, why should just cell phones be singled out?
Quote from: ChrisHandsfree only is hard to enforce, you can only get ticketed when a cop sees it. Much like taking pictures, changing CD's or smack your kids
There's a law against taking pictures while driving now?
Maybe more on topic, but I sometimes wish they would limit cellphone usage on public transit. During my college days when I was car-free, I had a bus trip across town where I had to listen to a guy apparently have problems with his girlfriend. After that I tried to travel via bicycle whenever possible.
Washington State also has a hands free ban.
I'm actually opposed to banning cell phones, because for every cell phone talking driving idiot, there are just as many people that are capable of competently driving with a cell phone in their hand. Some people are better at multitasking than others, and if one is capable of doing it without breaking any other laws, they should be free to go.
If talking with a cell phone causes me to drive inattentively, I should be ticketed for that, but I should not be ticketed just for using a cell phone.
I just feel like it sets a dangerous precedent- next we'll ban eating in cars because that's just as distracting, and after that...driving while taking pictures, which would not be fun for any of us
Quote from: mightyace on May 06, 2009, 12:46:42 PMOr, why should just cell phones be singled out?
when laws are made, they're made to single out certain things - that way politicians have job security ;-)
The fine for using your cell phone while driving is $ 200 in the Netherlands. ($ 120 for using a cell on a moped).
Quote from: corcoWashington State also has a hands free ban.
I'm actually opposed to banning cell phones, because for every cell phone talking driving idiot, there are just as many people that are capable of competently driving with a cell phone in their hand. Some people are better at multitasking than others, and if one is capable of doing it without breaking any other laws, they should be free to go.
If talking with a cell phone causes me to drive inattentively, I should be ticketed for that, but I should not be ticketed just for using a cell phone.
I just feel like it sets a dangerous precedent- next we'll ban eating in cars because that's just as distracting, and after that...driving while taking pictures, which would not be fun for any of us
You make a valid point. But a lot of times folks get so engrossed into their conversation that they forget that they're driving. I have a friend who was backing out of my driveway while she was on the phone. She stopped before totally exiting the driveway, leaving a 1/4 of her car in the road. I looked at her, then looked at road. I then told her she needed to get the rear-end of the car out of the road, because the street I live on is "cut throught street," with lots of folks driving erraticly.
In short, if you have a hands-free device that would make driving a bit safer. I'm not saying that it's going to be "all the way safe," but it will be safer.
Be well,
Bryant
Quote
You make a valid point. But a lot of times folks get so engrossed into their conversation that they forget that they're driving. I have a friend who was backing out of my driveway while she was on the phone. She stopped before totally exiting the driveway, leaving a 1/4 of her car in the road. I looked at her, then looked at road. I then told her she needed to get the rear-end of the car out of the road, because the street I live on is "cut throught street," with lots of folks driving erraticly.
In short, if you have a hands-free device that would make driving a bit safer. I'm not saying that it's going to be "all the way safe," but it will be safer.
Be well,
Bryant
If you're mentally engrossed in a conversation though and not on driving I fail to see how a hands free set will help you. I feel like if she were really deeply involved in the conversation, she would have done that whether or not she had two hands on the wheel or one. Lots of people drive with one hand- it's the mental process of the conversation that is distracting, not the act of holding a phone in your hand
^^ I don't disagree with you. I drive with one hand most of the time, and talk on my cell phone (while driving, sparingly). It's just that you'll have more control of the vehicle if you aren't holding anything. Again, I drive while holding my camera, sometimes. So, you may say I'm a bit of a hypocrite. :-D
Be well,
Bryant
Quoteit's the mental process of the conversation that is distracting, not the act of holding a phone in your hand
Of course, that also can apply if you're talking to someone in your vehicle. But, there is a chance one or more of the passengers can say "LOOK OUT!" whereas someone on the phone cannot.
For me personally, it can go both ways. The conversation can distract me and I try to avoid that. Or, at other times, it helps me. When it's late at night, talking to someone on the phone can keep me awake.
New Jersey also has a ban on using non hands free cell phones while driving. My __________ violates that law regularly.
Quotef course, that also can apply if you're talking to someone in your vehicle. But, there is a chance one or more of the passengers can say "LOOK OUT!" whereas someone on the phone cannot.
That still doesn't affect your hand being on the cell phone. You can become just as mentally engrossed in conversation whether you are wearing a bluetooth device or holding your phone with your hand.
Either all non CB extra-vehicular conversation needs to be banned or none of it should be. It's like enforcing Open Container Laws by saying "If you drink beer while driving, that's fine, but if you drink vodka you're getting a DUI"
Study after study has shown that the mental processes behind the conversation are about 99% of the problem, not having the hand on the phone. Banning handheld cell phone use is a step in the wrong direction because it emphasizes that the act of not having two hands on the wheel is the problem, not the act of mentally engaging yourself in something that has absolutely nothing to do with the road.
People with one hand can get driver's licenses. Should that be banned? When I drive a car with a stick, I frequently can't have two hands on the wheel. Should stick shifts be banned?
All banning handheld cell phone use does is make politicians look like they care about safety. Try to ban all cell phone conversation and you've got the seatbelt issue all over again, but a lot worse. By banning handheld phone conversation, all they do is make it LOOK like they care without actually doing anything that solves the problem, since the solution to the problem would inconvenience a lot of people meaning that they would not get re-elected.
In fact, with hands-free cell phones, you can be even MORE distracted! Now your hand is free to do all kinds of things like eat a donut or apply makeup, so now you can talk on the phone, eat, AND drive all at the same time .
perhaps they should ban eating while driving next ;-)
I drive with 3 fingers on the wheel all the time...
I routinely drive with one hand on the wheel myself. It's more comfortable, especially on long drives.
I was born and bred driving a stick, so essentially the only time my right hand ever touches the steering wheel is when I'm parallel parking or driving the old truck at my work that doesn't have power steering- it just doesn't feel right to me to have two hands on the wheel
Oregon just passed a law that you can't drive while talking on a cell phone unless you're using a hands free device.
I think the biggest problem isn't talking while driving...it's TEXTING while driving. I see this a lot!
^ I almost got hit on my bike by some woman who was texting while trying to turn. Then again, I do this all the time so I can't complain
and that 'ten and two' bull they have you do, hell no. thats the most uncomfortable thing ever. One hand on the bottom of the steering wheel, the other either on the stick shift, or my lap. or on the remote for the satillite radio, or my ipod. basically stay away from me while im driving im a hazard
California just passed that law.
VA has banned texting while driving as of July 1
Quote from: 74/171FAN on May 10, 2009, 08:27:45 AM
VA has banned texting while driving as of July 1
Is that going to get people to listen?
Quote from: roadman65 on June 15, 2022, 10:06:22 AM
Quote from: 74/171FAN on May 10, 2009, 08:27:45 AM
VA has banned texting while driving as of July 1
Is that going to get people to listen?
Talk about a major threadbump! What prompted you to dig up this one and respond?
In the
13 years since the post to which you responded, Virginia has enacted a total handheld phone ban for drivers (I believe calling 911 may be excepted). I know several other states have as well; Maryland comes to mind as the one with which I'm most familiar given where I live, but I know others have done so as well. In my observation, it hasn't made much difference. As usual, American governments were too slow to react to this sort of thing and are now trying to put the horse back in the barn after it's escaped.
In my view, the real potential benefit to handheld phone bans is not whether the police can ticket someone; as others have noted, that's difficult for a host of reasons. The real benefit is that a ban of that sort may be persuasive evidence of the standard of care in a civil suit arising out of a crash, and a ban of that sort might also make a person's cell phone records discoverable so as to determine whether the person was using a phone at the time of a crash (especially if the person denies doing so).
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 15, 2022, 10:14:52 AM
In my view, the real potential benefit to handheld phone bans is not whether the police can ticket someone; as others have noted, that's difficult for a host of reasons. The real benefit is that a ban of that sort may be persuasive evidence of the standard of care in a civil suit arising out of a crash, and a ban of that sort might also make a person's cell phone records discoverable so as to determine whether the person was using a phone at the time of a crash (especially if the person denies doing so).
It also makes it easier for companies to prohibit or discourage cell phone use in company vehicles. For example, Kansas doesn't have a statewide ban on cell phone use. But the town of Manhattan does, and my company does business there. It wasn't long after Manhattan passed that ordinance that my company began discouraging the use of cell phones in company trucks even outside of Manhattan.
Not sure how I missed this thread when it was originally active, but my thoughts on the subject are well-known. Just because some people can't walk and chew gum at the same time doesn't mean the activity should be prohibited by everyone.
To me, "cell phone rudeness" is exhibited not by people using them while driving, but using them while trying to do other things, such as checking out at a store. Why people can't suspend their phone conversations while they're interacting with a cashier is beyond me. They're yakking while they're unloading their carts, they're yakking while they're paying, they're yakking while they are trying to load their bagged purchases back into the buggy, they're yakking while they're trying to unload the buggy at their vehicles in the parking lot -- and often trying to light cigarettes at the same time.
Whatever happened to "I'll call you back, I'm busy right now?"