Cell Phones+Cars=Disaster!

I was heading to the post office last Tuesday in 'Lil Red' when I got stopped by a red light. Normal, everyday event, right? Not this time. As I was waiting for the light to turn green, I glanced out my rearview and saw a pick-up truck coming from behind fast...too fast! The fool was talking on a cell phone! I thought to myself, he'll never be able to stop, and he didn't. He was so intent on his conversation that he didn't see the red light, or me, or 'Lil Red.' At the last moment, he must have realized what was happening and swerved to the right, but that action was ill-timed. End result; 'Lil Red' was totaled and I ended up with stitches and 27 staples in my head to hold my scalp together.
This may sound strange, but I'm glad I was where I was at that time. You see, the mini-van in front of me had a woman and 2 small children in it.
How many people have to die, or be injured before they realize that

"CELL PHONES+CARS=DISASTER?"

 

ANY DISTRACTIONS + CARS = DISASTER.

Although cell phones rank right up there at the top. Teenage moron down here ran into a tree while text messaging & driving a while back.

Sorry you had to add your own car and scalp to the statistical universe. But glad you're still around to talk about it.

 

In the UK they considered for a while raising the car insurance for smokers. They considered it a dangerous distraction if th driver was lighting and smoking a cigarette. So, does that mean you also get penlized on your insurance for eating an apple, or eating chips while driving too? I doubt it very much....

 

Yep, I nearly got wiped out by some yuppie woman in Mercedes Sport, busy talking and laughing, on a cell phone and doing about 75km/hr in a parking lot. Crazy idjits!

Some woman was in the News recently - caused a huge pile up on the Freeway. Investigations found she was busy twirling a big bowl of spaghetti in between her legs at the time, LoL!

(...Hope you heal up fast, Stubby.)

 

What

The

Hell.

That's so grotesquely stupid, I can hardly believe it. How can someone think that that is alright? How?!

It's almost as bad as my friend who thinks that drunk driving is a good laugh Needless to say he's not really much of a friend.

It annoys me that some young drivers are so irresponsible, because it makes insurance more expensive for those of us who aren't. True, even responsible inexperienced drivers have accidents - but no where near as many as irresponsible ones.

But - that's not got anything to do with truck drivers on cellphones. Interesting thing to note: do you think the same thing would have happened if they were talking on a CB radio?

Hope it's not too uncomfortable for too long, Stubby!

 

Goldfish, you brought a very valid point about CB radios. I was a truck driver for 30+ years and I had a CB in my rig. For me, it was never a distraction, but rather a comfort especially on long hauls. So to answer your question as to whether the accident would have happened had a CB instead of a cell phone been involved, I'd have to say no. Even though a cell phone and a CB are similar, their use is different. Of course I'm only speaking about big trucks and not pick-ups with CBs installed. That would probably be a whole different ballgame. I won't even get into what I think about this new breed of truck driver on the roads today!! You know the ones I mean...they spend 4 to 6 weeks at a 'school' and then given the keys to a 40 ton rocket and turned lose on an unsuspecting public!! NOT a comforting thought!!

 

What is the difference between operating a CB radio and a cellphone? They're both handheld, you talk into both of them. Is holding one to your ear different to holding a handset to your mouth? Perhaps it's the fact that phone calls cost money makes you concentrate more on them.

Either way the law needs to explicitly ensure that accidents do not happen due to electronic distractions. For truck drivers or anyone else. But it also needs to make sure people do not get punished for doing something that would not cause an accident. We need to work out exactly what it is about cellphones that distracts you so much, so we can apply it to other things that might have the same effect.

 

The Navy's Mid-Lant region just banned cell phone use while driving. I'm not opposed and rarely use mine at all but its nearly impossible to enforce. Their even giving you FIVE warnings PER YEAR. What's the point.

Last night my wife and I had a close call with a Little-Ode-Lady who was trying to light up.

 

Another good point Goldfish!! Normally, CBs are used primarily on the highway, interstates, etc. and not so much in busy city traffic as cell phones are. The attention span isn't as peaked on the open highway as it should be in city traffic. That's the point I was trying to make.
Yeah, I agree 100% with you that there needs to be laws governing these things, CBs included. However, you know as well as I do, that as soon as legislation for something like this is presented, you'll have all sorts of 'rights' groups coming out of the woodwork claiming that 'Big Brother' is trying to infringe on our 'civil liberties!!' But what these 'groups' don't take into consideration is the lives that could be saved. If we, as a people, can't, or won't, realize the seriouness of this problem and don't take steps to remedy it ourselves, what other option is there? Maybe I'm just too close to this subject to be objective, since it happened to me, but the same thing could happen to anyone at anytime.

 

Well, I know here, both talking on mobile phones and C.B.'s whilst mobile is theoretically illegal. But does it make any difference in reality? Nope!

As was said, nearly impossible to enforce. With cellphones, a lot of it is just the 'cellphone culture' b.s. that is popular nowadays. You know, "I'm affluent and cool 'cause I've got a thousand dollar cellphone stuck to me head". "It must make me some kinda business executive".

The law abiding paying more and being inconvenienced more on account of a non-law abiding minority is the case in a lot of aspects of life, unfortunately.

I've been rear-ended a few times, just by people being careless idiots, over the years. One of them (a tanker full of gas, of all things), has permanently stuffed my neck up.

 

I bet you smoking will be illegal in cars in the UK soon, any money on it.

As for the mobile phones, it's a law that just isn't reinforced enough. If I see it when driving I let them know it's wrong

I saw somewhere in the paper that newer cars are going to be fitted with some sort of device that makes it impossible for a phone to be used in a car unless it's hands free. Will be interesting to see how it works...

 

Damn Phantom....a tanker?? Here I am griping about a pick-up truck! Obviously someone was on your side that day and I'm glad you're still around to talk about it. Unfortunatley, you are ALL right. There are laws against this, but they are unenforceble. After all, the cops have better things to do than sit on the side of the road waiting to find someone using a cell phone!! Granted, they wouldn't have to wait long, but your point is well taken.
I guess, like I said, I'm too close this right now to be objective, or to even think clearly. But I vented, and that helped. Sure, that won't change anything, but I feel better!! Thanks for putting up with my ranting!!

 

Yes, it will! I'd requie a lot of cooperation from the mobile phone manufacturers, I'd say. And there would also be a way round it... probably by disabling the transmitter in the car or in the phone (that's how I'd expect it to work). And since RF is pretty tricky to localise chances are it'd stop people walking along the road from making calls, too. And equally someone with the appropriate knowlege and equipment could broadcast such a signal blocking calls made on phones over a wide area. That'd be a pain. However it would mean that libraries and the such could "disable" phone calls within their walls without breaking any FCC laws.

As for smoking in cars - it's illegal to throw a butt out of the window - littering. You can get fined for £60 for it. The best thing is that the police don't even need to be there. You can report someone doing it with their licence plate and get them fined. If that's not screwed up I don't know what is.

And as for civil rights - it's a road users right to be safe on the road. If you're doing something that negates the rights of others then you're the one infringing on civil rights, not big brother.

Using a CB on an interstate/highway/whatever - a really long straight road - might actually be a good thing. It'd keep you awake and alert on long straight roads. Scientific research shows that peoples brainwaves increace significantly when conducting a conversation, most of all in real life but also over electronic devices. With long straight roads you only need to think about keeping the thing going straight - not much concentration required, but if your overall brain activity is low then you won't have enough. But in a built up area your brain activity is already high, so adding a conversation to the mix would only decreace the concentration you put on driving.

Perhaps the answer is to have location-based restrictions on electronic equipment in vehicles. So highways it's ok to use a CB radio, but as soon as you get into a built up area it is illegal. Just an idea.

 

its my "civil right" not to have to worry about getting clobbered by idiots who cant do more than one thing at a time

 

My point exactly - perhaps not quite as eloquently put as that though

 

pithy

thats the only way

 

LOL!!! I love it Greenhorn!! It may not be fancy, but it drives the point home!!

 

ooooooh
good pun!

drives


gotta pay respects to good humor

 

i think all children should be banned from cars unless there is more than one adult (the driver) in attendance.
i think all people working a twelve hour night shift, regardless of profession, should be banned from driving the return journey.
i think there should be an adrenaline test, much the same as alcohol tests, and if you have too much in your system....instant ban.
the same with testosterone.

 

Well it's hard to test for naturally occuring hormones because you don't know what someone levels are like before you tested them - so you can't tell if they've got an excess. It might be that you have a permenantly high testosterone level but you act normally on that level. Similarly adrenaline, though that's a little easier. But still, if you've been stopped by the police chances are your adrenaline level will jump up - then they take the test....

 

Hands free aren't any safer. You're still talking to someone who isn't there, who doesn't know what's going on around you. The phones need to be linked to the car in that you cannot answer it until the vehicle speed sensor is at 0MPH or trans in park. The big difference between CB's and cells is the majority of cb users are professional drivers who are likely better at multitasking or at least knowing when not to talk on the thing. Look some of the people who have cell phones.

 

Sorry, I meant a hands free system that's actually fitted to the car, as in what we've got is that you put the phone on the dock next to the radio, when a car comes through the other person's voice actually comes through the car system, just as if you were talking to a person sitting in the car with you.

I suppose the only distraction is that you have to look down to the phone to answer the call, hang up, etc.

 

Distraction is one thing but it is the combination of driving with one hand that causes the problem hence hands free sets appears to be OK. After all people listen to car radios (and even MP3 players nowadays) - some annoying loud thumping music THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP.... name that tune in one!

With regards to blocking mobiles inside a car, library, cinema, theatre, etc. it is simplest just to turn the enclosure into a Faraday cage and allow only a direct wired connection to the outside. They already starting to do this with commercial aircraft - mobiles are useless inside the "cage" but a limited connection can be made by connecting to an external aerials. One problem not considered in a "cage" is that the signals are "bouncing" around and may even be amplifying and frying all in the "cage".

 

There is no substitute for common sense (which aint exactly common, b.t.w.). Hands-Free, no Hands-Free, it doesn't make much difference actually. People cause crashes as was said, with that friggin' thump, thump music; changing C.D.'s whilst driving (Duh!); and most commonly, talking to other people actually in the car. I'm sure you see them every day- driving along in one direction, with their stoopid noggin pivoted sideways, and waving their hands around, busily engrossed on their 'all-important', trivial b.s. conversation.

Now, if they could have some kind of automatic arm inside the car, with a big, hard glove on it, that gave 'em a good slap every time they started doing something other than concentrating on driving, it might do some good, LoL! Or, at least we would get some amusement out of seeing some silly dick getting a good slap, eh!

 

Yeh but it's great fun to turn the music up when driving, it's a teen/student thing to do....don't say you didn't ever do it

 

One of the strangest memories of my teenage years will be driving down Marlow High Street with 3 friends with Barbie Girl - Aqua blaring out of the stereo with all the windows open

Yobish? Perhaps, but ironic. We got some very interesting reactions! Old people gave us evil looks (understandable) and younger people either looked confused or started dancing.

 

im going with giving them a idiot test befor a license.
put them in a 3D driving simulator
then put them on the phone with someone they dont like (mom, dad, wife, husband, ....just someone annoying to take their mind of the test) and see if they can keep from hitting things in the simulator. if you cant do it

NO LICENSE FOR YOU!

 

Remind me to never allow you to be the music coordinator for one of our pre-launch parties

I've got a link to that mp3; perhaps I should post it and allow you the delight of going back in time to those rocious days of your youth? Hi Barbie! Hi Ken! You wanna go for a ride? Come on Barbie, let's go party!

Oiy

 

I can`t tell you how many times I have encountered idiots yakking on phones while driving. It`s insane. The only think that may be worse is young females yakking either on a phone or not. They don`t pay any attention to where they are going or what`s going on around them. No blinkers are used. Do mfrs. even put blinkers on vehicles any more? Are they a option?

 

Well, in France they are optional

 

It's illegal here to use a mobile phone while driving, unless it's hands free.


I don't think it's that much safer. People still get distracted when in a conversation rather than concentrating on their driving.

The jury is still out on that one.


Anyway, not everyone obeys the law. There are still plenty of idiots using mobiles without hands free.

Then again, there are plenty of idiots that have a drivers licence, that shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a drivers seat.


I don't know why people find driving so difficult, especially considering that modern cars are SO easy to drive.