Is it legal to...?

[Sykotyk]

It's funny, I find talking on the phone (which I don't do often while driving, but when I do it's always via Bluetooth as I consider using a handheld phone with a manual shift to be inherently unsafe) to be more distracting than talking to a passenger, even if I'm arguing with the passenger. I think it's because the passenger can see the road and react to it, such as shutting up when appropriate, while the person on the other end of the phone cannot.

The car I drive most often has built-in Bluetooth and voice-control, but talking on the phone for any length of time still gets distracting.

Then make sure the people you talk to on a phone while driving know you're driving. I've never once had someone inconsiderate enough to start thinking I'm ignoring them because I asked them to repeat themselves or to wait a moment or simply 'went dead air' for a second or two.

You're the one in control, not the person on the other end of the phone.

[bzakharin]

@Sykotyk,
I assume you're talking to me based on your message, even though you're not quoting me. But yes, they do know I'm driving. It doesn't make it any less exasperating for them, and I fully understand and don't take it personally. Truthfully, I don't talk on the phone while driving that often if you don't count 511

[briantroutman]

Like most clickbait time-wasters, this appears to be rife with inaccuracies. For example, it lists PA among the 44 "OK to drive slowly in the passing lane"  states, but that doesn't agree with the Commonwealth's motor vehicle code:

Upon all roadways any vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic, or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction or when preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into an alley, private road or driveway.

I don't think it gets much clearer than that. Except perhaps the "KEEP RIGHT | PASS LEFT | IT'S THE LAW"  signs on the PA Turnpike.

[bzakharin]

The article doesn't say slowly. It says at all. Notice that your quote has "any vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing".

Also, "upon all roadways"? There are plenty of surface roads where this is not feasible. People tend to stay in the lane they will eventually need to exit the road off of. I live off of a 4-lane road where I need to turn left onto the residential street on the way back from work. I (as well as everyone else) stay in the left lane for the duration unless it is considerably more congested than the right lane in which case I'd use that to pass. Usually the speed is about the same in both lanes, though, with enough cars that changing lane become a chore.

[Duke87]

Would you use your phone while driving to report a 911-type situation (such a crash with injuries or a fire)?

I have never had cause to do this, but I imagine I'd pull over to make such a call, the same as I do to make any other urgent call. Besides, isn't it SOP that if you dial 911 you're supposed to remain at the scene until police/fire/EMS arrives?

I once discovered a murder in Montgomery County, Maryland; but did not call 911, since there was pretty clearly no need for an emergency response, so I called the police non-emergency line, and a pair of uniformed cops showed up quickly, followed by a much larger response once they had arrived and confirmed that it was indeed a homicide.

Interesting difference in jurisdictional policy. I had cause to call the local police to report a crime once which was likewise not an emergency. I did exactly what you did and called the front desk of the nearest police precinct directly, but they told me I needed to hang up and call 911. So I called 911 and the cops showed up maybe half an hour later.

This is New York City's way of doing things, though, where they have decided that all requests for police/fire/EMS dispatch must go through 911 whether it is an emergency or not.

[roadman]

This is New York City's way of doing things, though, where they have decided that all requests for police/fire/EMS dispatch must go through 911 whether it is an emergency or not.

Boston has a similar policy.

[jeffandnicole]

I have never had cause to do this, but I imagine I'd pull over to make such a call, the same as I do to make any other urgent call. Besides, isn't it SOP that if you dial 911 you're supposed to remain at the scene until police/fire/EMS arrives?

Absolutely not.

I have made numerous calls to 911, and they ask standard questions (where is the emergency, is anyone injured, etc).  I provide answers the best I can, and tell me they'll send someone.  Depending which county I'm in sometimes they'll ask for my name and phone number.  But they never say stay at the scene, and they pretty much know from the call if you're at the scene or not.

[Pete from Boston]

I have never had cause to do this, but I imagine I'd pull over to make such a call, the same as I do to make any other urgent call. Besides, isn't it SOP that if you dial 911 you're supposed to remain at the scene until police/fire/EMS arrives?

Absolutely not.

I have made numerous calls to 911, and they ask standard questions (where is the emergency, is anyone injured, etc).  I provide answers the best I can, and tell me they'll send someone.  Depending which county I'm in sometimes they'll ask for my name and phone number.  But they never say stay at the scene, and they pretty much know from the call if you're at the scene or not.

I've called more than once about something that I passed on an interstate that needed attention, like the woman and kids I saw last year walking along the shoulder of 93 at rush hour.

Since 911 is the number for all kinds of police calls around here, when I call 911 for non-emergency reasons I immediately that it is not an emergency.  I figure this allows the person on the other phone to relax a little.

I have tried calling 311 for non-emergency reports, but they still send you to 911. Apparently 311 is for things like requesting paperwork or finding out who towed your car.

[jeffandnicole]

I have never had cause to do this, but I imagine I'd pull over to make such a call, the same as I do to make any other urgent call. Besides, isn't it SOP that if you dial 911 you're supposed to remain at the scene until police/fire/EMS arrives?

Absolutely not.

I have made numerous calls to 911, and they ask standard questions (where is the emergency, is anyone injured, etc).  I provide answers the best I can, and tell me they'll send someone.  Depending which county I'm in sometimes they'll ask for my name and phone number.  But they never say stay at the scene, and they pretty much know from the call if you're at the scene or not.

I've called more than once about something that I passed on an interstate that needed attention, like the woman and kids I saw last year walking along the shoulder of 93 at rush hour.

Since 911 is the number for all kinds of police calls around here, when I call 911 for non-emergency reasons I immediately that it is not an emergency.  I figure this allows the person on the other phone to relax a little.

I have tried calling 311 for non-emergency reports, but they still send you to 911. Apparently 311 is for things like requesting paperwork or finding out who towed your car.

One of the reasons I've called many times was the 295 Aljo Curve in NJ.  I used to collect tolls on the NJ Turnpike's Exit 3 for the overnight shift, and would leave about 6, 6:30 in the morning.  I go over to 295 to go home, and if it was raining, it was amazing how often I would encounter a car that spun out in that Aljo curve...I guess people just not slowing down enough.

Apparently in NJ (at least at the time, over 10 years ago) on the highway if you report a crash with injuries you deal with one 911 call center; if there's no injuries you deal with the State Police directly.

The entire call eventually would go like this:

"911 Where's your Emergency"

"295 Southbound Aljo curve one vehicle spin-out not sure if there's any injuries"

"OK we'll connect you to the state police please hold"

Ring Ring

"911 Where Your Emergency"

"295 Southbound Aljo curve one vehicle spin-out not sure if there's any injuries"

"OK we'll send someone thanks"

[odditude]

i've called 911 several times for accidents or dangerous debris on the roadway (trees, box springs, other furniture) on I-95 in Bucks County. it's always been received with a grateful "thanks for calling with the report, we'll let the State Police know right away."

[kphoger]

Two points:

(1) Laws vary by county, not just by state.  Passengers in the bed of a pickup is one that sticks out to me as varying by more than just state.

(2) Has anyone actually found any written vehicle code prohibiting driving barefoot, in any state?

[froggie]

(2) Has anyone actually found any written vehicle code prohibiting driving barefoot, in any state?

Local media picked up on this one in Virginia a few years ago (I don't remember if it was DC-area or Norfolk), after rumor circulated that Virginia prohibited barefoot driving.  However, they couldn't find anything on it, and neither could I after searching through the state statutes.

[1995hoo]

(2) Has anyone actually found any written vehicle code prohibiting driving barefoot, in any state?

Local media picked up on this one in Virginia a few years ago (I don't remember if it was DC-area or Norfolk), after rumor circulated that Virginia prohibited barefoot driving.  However, they couldn't find anything on it, and neither could I after searching through the state statutes.

It was probably DC-area because I vaguely remember that too.