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Automotive News & Views Should cell phone drivers be singled out?
3688 messages, Last post on Oct 27, 2009 at 11:39 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: lilengineerboy (Aug 29, 2009 9:07 pm) The thing about tuning a radio is that the driver can select the instant when he/she will do the task - if they are intelligent and alert drivers. If you are having a conversation on a cell while driving, your main concentration is listening, absorbing content and constructing your next reply and then delivering a reply. This is vastly different from changing a radio station which only requires momentary simple thought process and can be done safely when road is straight, no intersections nearby, no opposing traffic. The distraction of a cell phone call is a continuous thought process rather than a brief instant to change a radio station. I was one who years ago drove and used the cell phone. As I have mentioned in previous posts, when I did this, and upon call termination, I thought and recounted and usually could not remember any traffic details during the call. I would often think, "Oh, I have gone this far?". Today, if I am on a rural 55 posted highway, with semi traffic to boot, that has curves, dips, crests, crossroads, sideroads, I am very careful to change a radio station. Only do it on a straight, with no oncoming traffic, no semi on my rear.
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Replying to: lilengineerboy (Sep 01, 2009 6:27 pm) I've heard a couple more tech types on the radio in the last month say it's feasible to kill cell phone transmissions in moving vehicles. Seems a bit punitive for passengers and the commuter crowd.
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Replying to: steve_ (Sep 02, 2009 12:12 pm)  . I'm not sure I would use the term punitive. After all, we got along fine without phones in the car for, oh, maybe 80 or 90 years  .
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Replying to: srs_49 (Sep 02, 2009 1:41 pm) Is this per the FCC or ? You can always make stuff illegal one way or another. 
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Replying to: steve_ (Sep 02, 2009 4:00 pm) Here in Maryland, the governor has been trying to get permission to try out cell phone jamming gear in some prisons. This came about because some "hits" were ordered by people incarcerated using smuggled in cell phones. I do not know if the feds approved his request or not.
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Replying to: xrunner2 (Sep 02, 2009 8:03 am) Cheers! Paul
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Replying to: hammerhead (Sep 03, 2009 8:10 am) |
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Replying to: srs_49 (Sep 03, 2009 3:19 am) |
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Distracted Driving Summit in Washington, DC This week there was a summit of sorts in Washington DC to get a clearer picture of what contributes to distracted driving. The proceedings were colorful with the zealots on both sides, but aside from that, there was an earnest effort from all parties (cell phone industry, vehicle manufacturers. safety organizations, research institutes, and just about everyone else) to actually work on problem solving. What I see coming out of this is a ban on hand held phone use for texting or dialing, upholding the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers' Guidelines for in-vehicle devices (why you can't program a destination in a built in navigation system...and why its unlikely you will be able to with a hand-held in the future), and a push for more things like SYNC and U-connect - integrated on-board in-vehicle solutions that let you dial using voice. It was a great opportunity to see what industry and research leaders had to offer in developing solutions. While there was a focus on telematics and infotainment, there is also the challenge of "old world" distractions in vehicles like eating, child care, navigation and personal grooming. This implies that cell phone users were in fact singled out, but I think the outcome of the summit will be largely positive for all road users.
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Replying to: lilengineerboy (Oct 01, 2009 5:36 pm) But, the preponderance of observed distraction types is cell phone use evident by driver holding device to ear. Given the amount of use of "hands-free" devices, one cannot observe these type distractions, EXCEPT when loony driving maneuvers cause one to suspect a driver is using hands-free. MSNBC had clip from DC summit showing U of Utah Professor who said numerous testing they have done shows cell phone users, hand held or hands free, are twice as risky/dangerous on road than legally drunk .08 drivers. Laws needed to ban all kinds of driver cell phone use. Mika Brezinski, host on MSNBC, opined that is inevitable. That would be a good thing just as an open beer can is illegal inside a car even though a driver could consume one beer and be well under .08 DUI threshhold.
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