Goverment to disable Cellphone use in cars

m5james · #1 12-03-2010, 07:32 PM

I could probably search Google and find another story that says the contrary. Point is, or at least to me, is that if I'm not holding a phone on the side of my head, throwing my arm around as well, blocking my view, cord dangling, etc is far worse than me using a BT so I'll have my hands free to do the driving and/or be more ready for an immediate manuever if needed. It's just more logical to me have a little BT dangling in my ear while talking vs holding a brick on the side of my head, essentially limiting the free use of my hands.

JCL · #2 12-03-2010, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m5james

I could probably search Google and find another story that says the contrary. Point is, or at least to me, is that if I'm not holding a phone on the side of my head, throwing my arm around as well, blocking my view, cord dangling, etc is far worse than me using a BT so I'll have my hands free to do the driving and/or be more ready for an immediate manuever if needed. It's just more logical to me have a little BT dangling in my ear while talking vs holding a brick on the side of my head, essentially limiting the free use of my hands.

I tend to agree that hands free makes sense when compared to holding a device. It makes sense to have your hands free to maneuver. But if we were really concerned about having hands free to maneuver, we would probably ban stickshifts and hand signals.

Studies seem to show that it is much more distracting speaking, and preparing to speak, than to listen. Using a phone isn't the same as having a conversation with a passenger, since a passenger is aware of things competing for the driver's attention.

See if you can find that 'handsfree is safer than handsheld' study. And studies conducted by makers of BT headsets don't count.

I think the reason that laws, where they have been enacted, focus on handheld devices is that they catch texters, and they are more easily sold, politically. The lawmakers have the studies in hand that show they are a misdirected law, ie if they want to reduce driver distraction and related accidents they should ban all telephone use. That would be a tough sell.