Safety Board Recommends Total Cell Phone Ban for Drivers

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jellico

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I'm sorry, but I hate blanket recommendations like this. There are people out there that can navigate using their cell phone while eating a cheeseburger and carrying on a conversation with other people in the car. And, there are people who can barely drive when the conditions are ideal and they have their hands glued to 10 and 2. Cops can already pull people over for driving erratically, so why do we need this?
 

technuttso

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Wellcome to the civilized world. :) In Europe is forbiden the use of the cell phone to the drivers. Only with the handsfree. No texting or videoconference(lol). This is not the freedom issue. Is a good measure. What the hell, i don't want to be killed by someone eager to text about nothig with some other dude. I am a good driver.
 

K2N hater

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No-one disagrees that transit kills more than wars but these measures are barely effective.

1. People will ignore the ban and will keep phoning regardless;
2. Dark windshields are still allowed except for Minnesota and California.
 
G

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I want my money back for the "Hands Free Link" in my Honda then!! The Feds have no business in this kind of thing. I do not text and drive myself, nor will I ever, but I still think making a law against something like this is about as effective as putting a "No Handguns on Campus" sign on the Virginia Tech Campus.... Just saying... People are going to do whatever they want, and no laws will stop them.
 

A Bad Day

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"Well, I haven't crashed my car yet and I don't see it happening to me. Time to send out some text messages..."

-Typical mentality of many humans, especially teenagers
 

ta152h

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This is good. It's time for these chatty dorks to start being responsible, instead of having stupid conversations while driving which has a risk.

To those who think there shouldn't be blanket rules, I'll give you a hint. Everyone thinks it shouldn't apply to them. They're not the problem, it's someone else who can't drive good like they can, while on the phone, that's the problem.

Get over it. You're sharing a road, it's not your home. You have to ensure other people's safety even though you want to have stupid conversations with boring people, that aren't necessary. If they are, PULL OVER.
 

cyprod

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[citation][nom]brandonb1985[/nom]I want my money back for the "Hands Free Link" in my Honda then!! The Feds have no business in this kind of thing. I do not text and drive myself, nor will I ever, but I still think making a law against something like this is about as effective as putting a "No Handguns on Campus" sign on the Virginia Tech Campus.... Just saying... People are going to do whatever they want, and no laws will stop them.[/citation]
maybe true, but then when you cause an accident, kill someone and they pull your cellphone record and see you were on a call, then they can charge you with something actually meaningful. With the current laws, it's hard to get people even with reckless driving, let alone vehicular manslaughter.
 

inxane

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[citation][nom]jellico[/nom]I'm sorry, but I hate blanket recommendations like this. There are people out there that can navigate using their cell phone while eating a cheeseburger and carrying on a conversation with other people in the car. And, there are people who can barely drive when the conditions are ideal and they have their hands glued to 10 and 2. Cops can already pull people over for driving erratically, so why do we need this?[/citation]

Human multitasking is a myth that has been debunked many times.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_multitasking

You can also watch "test your brain" for more proof that there's no such thing. The "blanket" recommendation is sound and has scientific backing, your claim does not unfortunately.
 

zzz_b

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What next?!?
They should ban GPS', radios and all other electronics. You get distracted from those devices too. You should not talk either, that is a distraction too.
I use my phone in the stereo of the car, completely hands free, no texting or anything else.

Give heavier fines for texting while driving.
 

inxane

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[citation][nom]Raidur[/nom]If you can't hold a conversation while you drive, maybe you shouldn't be driving.[/citation]

You can't multitask effectively, you're better off focusing on the driving.
 

jellico

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[citation][nom]inxane[/nom]Human multitasking is a myth that has been debunked many times. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_multitaskingYou can also watch "test your brain" for more proof that there's no such thing. The "blanket" recommendation is sound and has scientific backing, your claim does not unfortunately.[/citation]
If the human brain was not capable of multitasking, you would be dead... it's that simple. Hell, you wouldn't even be able to drive a car as it requires a careful coordination of your hands and feet in response to input from your sight, hearing, and touch. That's a lot of stuff going on a once. I know the tendency is to sum up all that activity as simply "driving" but it's actually a ballet of several activities being done simultaneously. So if you want to say that we can't multitask, then you are simply arguing semantics.
 

inxane

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[citation][nom]jellico[/nom]If the human brain was not capable of multitasking, you would be dead... it's that simple. Hell, you wouldn't even be able to drive a car as it requires a careful coordination of your hands and feet in response to input from your sight, hearing, and touch. That's a lot of stuff going on a once. I know the tendency is to sum up all that activity as simply "driving" but it's actually a ballet of several activities being done simultaneously. So if you want to say that we can't multitask, then you are simply arguing semantics.[/citation]

I'd read that article and watch some researched documentaries before making yet another ill educated comment.

Link your sources pls?

Hell.. here's one for ya.. goodluck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r5-jrzNjI4
 

dark_lord69

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The only part I don't like about that law is that I use my phone as an MP3 player so, I guess that means I have to set it and just leave it alone. Kinda sucks if you want to just press 1 button to skip to the next song.
 

afrubin

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[citation][nom]jellico[/nom]If the human brain was not capable of multitasking, you would be dead... it's that simple. Hell, you wouldn't even be able to drive a car as it requires a careful coordination of your hands and feet in response to input from your sight, hearing, and touch. That's a lot of stuff going on a once. I know the tendency is to sum up all that activity as simply "driving" but it's actually a ballet of several activities being done simultaneously. So if you want to say that we can't multitask, then you are simply arguing semantics.[/citation]


The point I believe he was making is that when we multi-task we do all the things we are doing in a FAR less efficient/effective manner. Driving well takes a lot of concentration, the moment you take away from it it causes deadly accidents.

I am fine with this 'blanket decision' because people suck at driving as is. The more we do to limit people's distractions the better off we all are. Driving a car or not driving a car is a decision, but when it comes to doing something so dangerous (driving what could be a couple thousand pound death machine) there should be rules like this.
 

wildkitten

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[citation][nom]technuttso[/nom]Wellcome to the civilized world. In Europe is forbiden the use of the cell phone to the drivers. Only with the handsfree. No texting or videoconference(lol). This is not the freedom issue. Is a good measure. What the hell, i don't want to be killed by someone eager to text about nothig with some other dude. I am a good driver.[/citation]
Texting is one thing and should be banned. The issue comes from the fact that they are reccomending outlawing ALL cell phone usage, even talking with hands free equipement.

This is where the problem comes in. I know for myself, it is less distracting to talk on the cell phone, and yes, I use a headset, than when carrying on a conversation with someone in the car. When someone is in the car with us, we have a tendency to turn our heads, even if for a brief moment, to make eye contact. No such thing happens with cell phone usage. So will having passengers in the car also become illegal? If not (and I'm not advocating it), there's a huge hypocrisy issue.

This is what happens when a society loses common sense and goes from one extreme to another.
 
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