What a great example of good ol’ fashioned scare mongering! I still fail to understand how talking on a cellphone can be more distracting than talking to another person in the vehicle. Holding a cellphone rather than using a hands-free device is obviously detrimental, but how can talking and listening to a disembodied voice while (hopefully) keeping one's eyes on the road be less detrimental to one's driving abilities than having a discussion with someone in the passenger seat (whom you may occasionally look over at)? According to the article, the distraction comes from the act of listening, so perhaps we should ban talking in cars altogether…
I guess having been rear-ended at a stop light by a woman who failed to notice I was stopped, and having gone through protracted treatments for back problems made a fear-monger out of me.
$200 fine in NJ now for using a hand-held while driving.
I hate cell phones. I hate SUVs. Rage, hatred, and mindless pugnacity. Truly, I am not a poster boy for the new emergent consciousness.
It should be noticed, in fairness, that Dr. Blosser lives in an area which has, I believe, the highest per capita rate of SUV ownership of anywhere in the country. It is not uncommon for teenagers to own SUVs as their first (and second) cars. Teenagers have great reflexes, but as anyone can tell you who has tried to teach the breed, lousy abilities as a multi-tasker.
MythBusters illustrated that talking on a cell phone can be just as bad as driving drunk.
Here in South Florida, it's nothing short of a menace. Not only do the folks feel a sense of entitlement to drive how they want in their Navigators and Escalades, but they're usually having an animated conversation on their cell phone in the process.
good grief, who can manage to talk on the phone while the vehicle is packed with noisy kids??? The kids are distraction enough. I can't even talk on the phone at home with my brood underfoot.
I HATE my cell phone and consider it a tool to use in a tight place...only when absolutely necessary and preferably when the engine is not running. Even then, I'm lucky if I get through 50% of the call without yelling at someone to be quiet.
I won't talk on a cell phone while driving and I can't stand when someone calls me from their cell phone while driving. The conversation is usually something like this:
"HELLO!!!?!!"
"Uh, hello?"
"YEAH, THIS IS SUCH-AND-SUCH *rasp, garble* DO YOU... AND THEN..."
*disconnect*
"Hello? Hello?"
Don't get me wrong, I hate talking on my cell phone when I'm driving, and I get uneasy when I see other drivers doing it (especially if they're weaving and so forth). I'm just asking, what is it about talking on the phone that's so different from talking to a person in the car with you? What makes it a bigger distraction?
Commenting by HaloScan
