Cell phones don't kill children, idiot parents do

[SlowwHand]

They should take her license.

[Arrian]

Don't forget texting. I ****ing HATE people who text.

I have a good friend who smacked up his car (he, thankfully, was unhurt, and no one else was involved) while texting. He told me the story while driving AND TEXTING, haha. I, sitting the backseat, was so stunned I didn't even complain.

I have used my cellphone while driving maybe 3 times. I know it's bad, and I have felt guilty afterwards. It CLEARLY has a negative impact on my driving. It's distracting.

Most of the time, I either avoid using it while in the car, or I pull over. I'm working on making "most of the time" into "all of the time."

-Arrian

[Ming]

Chicago is a "hands free" zone. The cops can pull you over if they see you using a cell phone in a non hands free way. At first, many people were pissed with the law, but now, I think people have come around and see the wisdom of it.

[chequita guevara]

It's not the use of the hands that's the problem. The discussion distracts the driver.

[Arrian]

Yes. Oddly, I personally believe it to be more distracting than talking to a passenger (though a conversation with a passanger must distract somewhat).

It's got almost nothing to do with hands, and everything to do with paying attention to driving. Headsets aren't going to help with that.

CT has a hands-free law too.

-Arrian

[Arrian]

It all comes down to my #1 pet peeve about driving. PAY ATTENTION.

My friend who crashed while texting and still texts is a bad driver, even when he's not texting, because he doesn't keep his attention focused on his driving. Ever bad driver I know is like that - if they could stay focused, they'd be fine.

-Arrian

[SlowwHand]

What?

[Arrian]

You have an excuse (senility).

-Arrian

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Yes. Oddly, I personally believe it to be more distracting than talking to a passenger (though a conversation with a passanger must distract somewhat).

Absolutely. The difference is that if the traffic demands extra attention, a driver has no problem saying to a passenger, "hang on, I need to pay attention here"; the passanger can see the situation, support the decision, and shut up. But, for whatever reason, we have trouble hanging up the phone in the middle of a conversation.

[DirtyMartini]

A passenger can also say -- "dude watch out for that *^%ing embankment, I don't want to die today". I'm a shameless backseat driver.

[Ming]

Yes. Oddly, I personally believe it to be more distracting than talking to a passenger (though a conversation with a passanger must distract somewhat).

It's got almost nothing to do with hands, and everything to do with paying attention to driving. Headsets aren't going to help with that.

CT has a hands-free law too.

-Arrian

It most certainly has something to do with hands if people are texting... and if they are taking the time to read texts... If you have a good hands free system, with voice recoginition, it is no worse than having a conversation with a person in the car, and maybe less so since you won't turn to look at them while they are speaking.

[SlowwHand]

I'm a terrible passenger. Sleep? You must be joking.

[KrazyHorse]

Old people who can't multitask:

[KrazyHorse]

I once read most of an academic paper while driving.

[DirtyMartini]

I read a novel while driving cross country, most of it while crossing through new mexico