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is law enforcement treating them as if they were a drug or alcohol?

How so?

Yeah, I didn't get that either.

distracted driving laws being similar to driving under the influence. That kind of thing.

Accountable;1377587 wrote: distracted driving laws being similar to driving under the influence. That kind of thing.


Yes, driving with one hand, and talking into the other hand holding a cell is very distracting, and is illegal in many states.

Now, driving and "TEXTING" and having an accident, can turn out to be outright murder, and S/B treated as such!

Accountable;1377580 wrote: is law enforcement treating them as if they were a drug or alcohol?You've got it backwards.

Ahso!;1377590 wrote: You've got it backwards.
They're treating drugs & alcohol as if the driver were talking on the phone?? Granted, I've been drunk enough to talk to people without concern that they were not within earshot, but ....

Mythbusters did a test on the theory that talking a cell phone was as distracting as being drunk.

They found that cell phone use could be even worse than being inebriated.

I know that I can drive pretty well while drunk (No, I do not, now, but I did when I was young and stupid.)

But talking on a cell phone, I have missed turns, run red lights, and found myself in situations I would have avoided if I had been paying better attention.

I no longer use the phone while driving. It is too distracting to me.

As to the OP, I do not think they arrest people and put them in jail for talking on a cell while driving. Drugs and alcohol, they do.

Is talking on the cell phone more distracting than talking to a passenger? I've missed turns when in the middle of a conversation.

The OP was about being cited for distracted driving. I can see how it might be a step toward equating it with driving under drugs & alcohol.

Accountable;1377596 wrote: Is talking on the cell phone more distracting than talking to a passenger? I've missed turns when in the middle of a conversation.

The OP was about being cited for distracted driving. I can see how it might be a step toward equating it with driving under drugs & alcohol.


IT could be, but again, being cited is a far cry from being hauled off to jail.

And, I find it more distracting than a casual conversation with a passenger.

It's easy to get distracted while driving ... simply adjusting the radio dial is enough to make me swerve ... well, not drunkenly or anything, not like I'm all over the road but just enough to make me realize I need to pay more attention to what's in front of me as opposed to getting James Taylor's voice out of my car before I fall asleep. Zzzzzzzz . So I can't imagine trying to text while driving ... I'd have to concentrate on it too much for anyone's safety. :-3

Some states do have laws against cell phone use while driving such as California and I believe New York but I won't swear to it. Probably others too and although the penalty isn't the same as it is with being under the influence, maybe it should be ... but it's a shame we have to have a law on the books to enforce what common sense should eliminate for us.

I won't answer my phone if my daughter is in the car with me.

There is a website on distracted driving.....not DUI, but DD:

Distracted Driving | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Texting and Driving

flopstock;1377605 wrote: I won't answer my phone if my daughter is in the car with me.
You shouldn't keep secrets from your daughter. :sneaky:

Gauging Your Distraction - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

Try this simple game to see how distracting it is to drive while texting. I gave up before the game was over, utterly defeated and unwilling to see the final score ... it was kinda fun to gate crash a few toll booth lookalikes though!

I was doing good just to keep up with the lanes, without trying to send texts.

LarsMac;1378275 wrote: I was doing good just to keep up with the lanes, without trying to send texts.Right?!? Who drives like that??

lol ... Yay ... so it wasn't just me!! Seriously though, I do see people on the expressways driving madly like that, crossing several lanes at high speed as if they were racing at Daytona. It gets worse the further north you go ... :driving:

I guess I'm safe, I've texted maybe 10 times in my life and I don't ever answer the phone if I can help it. I have it mainly for internet access/streaming music at work. I don't eat and drive, I don't change the channel or adjust the volume on the radio and my time is correct in my car. However, starting work at 6 AM means I'm usually still sleepy when I'm driving in, so I have to be careful about paying attention.

As a pedestrian I may be a wrong on this, but I'm pretty sure that mobile phone use of any sort while driving is now illegal here in the UK. I'm all in favour.

It seems to me from observation over the years that about a third of all drivers undergo significant personality change when they get behind the wheel of a car and become more aggressive. Not allowing these people to text while driving probably saves wider society a fair amount of car-related abuse as well as lives.

Clodhopper;1378688 wrote:

It seems to me from observation over the years that about a third of all drivers undergo significant personality change when they get behind the wheel of a car and become more aggressive.


I've heard that online forum posters can be like that too. I'm sure it's just a rumor though! :yh_wink

I wonder if it's actually a personality change or only more noticeable. I'd guess aggressive drivers behave similarly as shoppers, workers and parents. I know that's me, I'm aggressive.

I've heard that online forum posters can be like that too. I'm sure it's just a rumor though


Seriously, I think the two phenomena could be related. In both cases one imagines that one is safely removed from the consequences of your actions - safely at home, or in your "indestructible" metal box on wheels...

I wonder if it's actually a personality change or only more noticeable. I'd guess aggressive drivers behave similarly as shoppers, workers and parents. I know that's me, I'm aggressive.


I'm not sure that is a valid distinction. If you go from not very aggresive to aggressive when you get behind the wheel that's a change, which is what makes it noticeable. chuckle. I find it hard to see you as aggressive. Do you deliberately run over the toes of other shoppers with your trolley? Hurl passers-by into the soft cheeses because they are blocking your route to the meat section?

Can I go shopping with you if I ever get to the States? It seems it might be a most interesting experience.

Sure, you can tag along.

What I'm defining as aggressive is task focused, that's me. When I drive, I am focused on the destination and have no patience for people who don't appear to be. When I shop, I like to get in and out except on rare occasions when I'm in a passive state of mind. I'm not really disrespectful unless I perceive others as unaware of their surroundings and ignoring the needs of others, especially me. I'm self-centered but I don't view it as a problem because I'm on task. I'm also like that when it comes to work.

Example: I went into a convenience store for a fountain soda and there was a lady at the fountain on her cell phone while getting her soda, so I reached in front of her to fill my cup. She reacted surprised an gave me a dirty look at which time i said: "do one thing or the other if you can't simultaneously do both at a faster pace", and I walked away with my soda.

Ok, you're aggressively task focussed. Wow. Must admit I've found it better for my blood pressure to slow down a bit - I'd have waited the minute or so for the woman, but I suppose that would drive you nuts with frustration. Takes all sorts.

I did wait what seemed like an eternity but in reality was probably just a few seconds. Funny thing is my blood pressure doesn't rise, it's simply finishing a task.

Well the NTSB is calling for a total ban, not sure how that will work out

and there will likely be a lot of screaming, but for me, I think it should

come to pass.

In my area, there have been quite a few recent injuries/deaths caused

by texting while driving, and I don't think hands free is that much

safer.

I have owned a cell phone since back in the day (1986) when we called

them CAR phones. In that time, I can probably count on the fingers of

both hands the times I've used it. They were for more 'urgent' calls,

the time I hit a deer (no I wasn't on it before the hit!) the couple

of times someone was waiting for me at home, I was tied up in a

massive traffic jam and didn't want them to worry.

Newer drivers have no business using them anyway, and they really

weren't made (IMNSHO) for long drawn out half hour conversations

or looking down to text.

and I don't think hands free is that much safer.


I think you are right. It's the shift of attention away from guiding a tonne and a half of speeding metal to anything else that concerns me. I'm sure some can do both very safely - I'm equally sure others can't. I gather the legal situation here is that genuinely hands free is legal, but the police can do you for, say, dialing by hand or make it part of a driving without due care and attention charge if someone is clearly distracted.

If safety calls for banning even hands free devices, then logic demands we also ban music, talk radio, and having conversations with passengers.

Accountable;1378833 wrote: If safety calls for banning even hands free devices, then logic demands we also ban music, talk radio, and having conversations with passengers.


Well, it's not a formal ban, but the vast majority of the time, I drive solo, and do not play music or the radio.

I'm a real old broad, though.

If safety calls for banning even hands free devices, then logic demands we also ban music, talk radio, and having conversations with passengers.


Music I often use to help me concentrate, but there are certain albums I regard as actively dangerous to play. Meatloaf or anything by ZZ Top in particular*!

I think that's the thing - a conversation is fine, a blazing row is dangerous. A quiet chat on a hands free is probably ok; an intense business discussion perhaps not?

* Only while driving.

SHE'S GOT LEGS, SHE KNOWS HOW TA USE 'EM...

:yh_giggle

Ok, you try staying under 120 mph while playing this!

ZZ Top - Legs (From "Live In Texas") - YouTube

I'm not sure what you could do on a cellphone (hands free or not) that would match it!

This ones pretty good too.

The latest: Is 2012 the year to hang up the phone? - CNN.com

Clodhopper;1378836 wrote: Music I often use to help me concentrate, but there are certain albums I regard as actively dangerous to play. Meatloaf or anything by ZZ Top in particular*!

I think that's the thing - a conversation is fine, a blazing row is dangerous. A quiet chat on a hands free is probably ok; an intense business discussion perhaps not?

* Only while driving.


I saw a man masturbating once while he sat at the lights. Honest !!!!

oscar;1380633 wrote: I saw a man masturbating once while he sat at the lights. Honest !!!!
That takes multi-tasking to new, um, lows.

tabby;1409699 wrote:


That says it all

Pish posh. All we need is a heads-up display and voice-to-text app. All sorted!

flopstock;1377605 wrote: I won't answer my phone if my daughter is in the car with me.


Here's an update for you... I still don't answer my phone when my daughter is in the car. She answers it for me.:wah: