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Should cell phone drivers be singled out?

3688 messages,  Last post on Oct 27, 2009 at 11:39 AM

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What is this discussion about? Car Safety


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#3553 of 3688
Re: this was inevitable... [fintail] by xrunner2
Jan 12, 2009 (6:15 pm)
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Replying to: fintail (Jan 12, 2009 6:00 pm)

Distracted drivers are hugely from the cell phone usage variety. Once in a while, I might put a package of chocolate cookies from Costco on my center console. I can very easily pick a cookie without looking at the console and take a bite without distracting my attention from driving.
 
I have used cell phone while driving in the distant past and know that it is like drunk driving and not equivalent to eating a cookie.
#3554 of 3688
Re: this was inevitable... [xrunner2] by fintail
Jan 12, 2009 (6:58 pm)
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Replying to: xrunner2 (Jan 12, 2009 6:15 pm)

A lot of people will drop that cookie and veer around while trying to retrieve it, or misplace the box of cookies and veer around while they dig through all the garbage in their car, looking for it. It's best simply to not eat and drive. No food allowed in my cars
 
And then there are drinks, ICE, kids and other passengers, makeup/grooming, laptops...
#3555 of 3688
Re: this was inevitable... [fintail] by kdshapiro
Jan 13, 2009 (10:56 am)
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Replying to: fintail (Jan 12, 2009 6:58 pm)

Absolutely. I honestly don't care if there are separate laws on the books for all types of bad driving behaviors. A bad driver can cause a crash scratching their ears as easily as turning around to discipline their kids. But this same bad driver becomes a train wreck with a cell phone, while a good driver only becomes a bad driver.
 
I agree Congressional hearings are in order. Maybe the new administration will take this up.
#3556 of 3688
Better yet by boaz47
Jan 13, 2009 (12:13 pm)
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Show us the increased accident statistics and then put it to a vote. If cell phones cause more accidents decreased cell phones "have' to show a decrease in accidents.
 
I question if our congress will attack the cell phone industry in this economy? Maybe if they do pass a law they can also offer a several billion dollar bail out for loss caused by government intervention like they are doing for the auto industry.
 
But I would still like to see the people get a vote in the issue. Once on the ballot they have to show the cost to enforce and the cost in lost taxes because of what the industry pays. It would also be nice if they showed how many accidents have happened or how many will be reduced by such a law.
#3557 of 3688
techno fix by steve_ HOST
Jan 19, 2009 (11:08 pm)
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Technology to stop phone use in cars isn't perfect
 
As someone mentioned earlier, these solutions seem aimed mostly at teenaged drivers.
#3558 of 3688
Re: techno fix [steve_] by xrunner2
Jan 20, 2009 (6:07 am)
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Replying to: steve_ (Jan 19, 2009 11:08 pm)

Maybe let the marketplace minimize driver (or passenger) cell phone use when car is moving by imposing huge per minute fees, $1, $2 or $5 per minute. Emergency calls to 911 would be exempt. This would need technology updates at cell towers and mobile switching centers of the cell phone service providers.
 
In a letter to the editor in a recent Chicago Tribune, the writer suggeted that legislation is needed to require vehicle mfrs to build in radio (cell phone frequency) jamming in ignition module when engine is running.
 
Except for an emergency, there is no need for ordinary citizens to talk on a cell phone while vehicle is moving. People just need to plan better to manage their lives and communication needs. Somehow, drivers/passengers managed to live and communicate without cell phones from 1900 to the early 1980's.
#3559 of 3688
New gadget to supplement driver cell phone misuses by xrunner2
Feb 11, 2009 (9:35 am)
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On TV news program today, an editor from PC Magazine described a new type of tv that one could wear in the eyes similar to contact lenses. Body heat would power this tv screen and the transmitter/receiver would be in your pocket. He said that a person could be watching/listening to the TV while walking. He predicted that the technology could be ready in about 10 years.
 
Great. In ten years we will have drivers making calls via their ear piece while also watching TV AND driving. And, we thought that texting was dangerous.
#3560 of 3688
Distraction Research - Hands-free vs. Handheld by wsherwoo
Feb 12, 2009 (7:20 am)
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We at Ford support effective efforts to reduce driver distraction. A new Ford study shows voice-controlled interfaces such as Ford SYNC significantly reduce distraction levels compared to visually and manually operated handheld cell phones and music players. For example, study participants spent an average of 25 seconds with their eyes-off-the-road to select a song with a handheld MP3 player compared with 2 seconds for those choosing a song using SYNC.
 
This builds on independent research such as the government-sponsored Virginia Tech 100-car naturalistic driving study that followed 109 drivers for one year each, including 42,300 hours of driving over two million miles. The study concluded that manually dialing a handheld device while driving was almost 2.8 times riskier than just driving. However, the on-the-road study showed that talking/listening in a phone conversation while driving was no riskier than just driving.
 
The government has compiled other important research at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/NRD/Multimedia/PDFs/Crash%20Avoid- ance/2008/DOT-HS-810-704.pdf.
 
Wes Sherwood
Ford Communications
wsherwooford.com
#3561 of 3688
Re: Distraction Research - Hands-free vs. Handheld [wsherwoo] by boaz47
Feb 12, 2009 (2:20 pm)
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Replying to: wsherwoo (Feb 12, 2009 7:20 am)

"However, the on-the-road study showed that talking/listening in a phone conversation while driving was no riskier than just driving."
 
Thank goodness the NHTSA has stepped in at this point. And thanks for giving us some input from the automotive industry. I feel a lot better about that study that one published by some medical review that had no access to and automotive data. The hands free thing had some merit and many of us had thought that would be the end of it. But some are anti technology to the extream and even this study isn't going to help them. But I for one will keep it book marked.
#3562 of 3688
Re: Distraction Research - Hands-free vs. Handheld [wsherwoo] by kdshapiro
Feb 15, 2009 (9:36 am)
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Replying to: wsherwoo (Feb 12, 2009 7:20 am)

Using the same type of design, they found a fourfold increase in the risk
of serious crash involvement among drivers using a phone at the time of the collision.

 
Glad the NHTSA acknowledges the exponentially growing body of evidence that cell phone usage has a relationship to collisions.
 
I'm going to bookmark this for the future.

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