Thursday, June 26, 2008

Hang. Up. And. Drive.

Not only is it better for your driving, it keeps governments from finding an excuse to meddle. Check the (nanny) states cited in the linked article for their cel-and-drive laws: Californiastan and Novy York. Get the picture?

...Yes, I make the occasional call from the car, too. Even with a Bluetooth headset and eyes-free dialing (by touch, voicedialing would be nice but, $$), my attention to the primary (and life-preserving!) task is perceptibly lessened. H'mm, ask Tam to set the table or ohholycow NOT HIT THAT TRUCK! Which is the most important? Decisions, decisions.

Like other risky actions, the dangers of phoning while driving can be lessened by careful choice of time and conditions and a heightened awareness directed towards the primary task. Just keep yourself from becoming a statistic by use of some means other than dumb luck, please.

Do celphones make people ruder or do the inconsiderate find geater scope for their irritatingness through celphones? I pulled off the Monon Trail at the turnaround point of yesterday's ride to find a cel-yakking-enabled young person in a large car parked square across where the trail joins a strip-center paking lot, leaving barely room to get by if riders turned abruptly. (Gave me quite the dirty look when I did). The spot is posted not to park in and there were plenty of empty spaces in the lot. Thanks, Citizen!

Sheesh. Where's that clue-by-four?

8 comments:

breda said...

Mythbusters did a show comparing drunk driving and driving while cellphoning - turns out they're about the same. Scary.

Alan said...

I like to use it as an excuse to not have to have the phone leash turned on.

"Sorry, I was driving and I couldn't take your call," is an unarguable reason.

Plus, (puts tin foil hat on) if your phone is regularly off when you drive, THEY can't question it being off when you took that little trip that you didn't want anyone to know about.

phlegmfatale said...

I think the natural Dominas among us *ahem* should be able to freely administer sound beatings in public to random asshats on an as-needed basis.

Anonymous said...

I've suggested this before (another "Modest Proposal"). Rather than intrusive nanny-state laws, let's just change the rules regarding liability:
- If there is an accident, and it can be proven (through phone records) that one of the drivers was using a cell phone at the time, they carry 100% of the liability for the accident.

Doesn't matter if they were rear-ended by somebody, if they were tee-boned in an intersection by somebody who blew a light or sign...if you were on the phone, you bought the damage. Period.

Might not make the cell-phonies any better at driving, but I'd probably go buy a junker and spend my declining days having fun side-swiping 'em. I've been assaulted too many times on my motorcycle by idiots on their phones.

"He's just this guy, you know?" said...

Cell phones do not make people rude, nor embiggen their stupid side.

The technology just reveals what was always there..... a general level of inate stupidy in our society, and amongst humanity in general.

Some days I wonder how we bred ourselves out of the swamp.

staghounds said...

Talking on the telephone is a divider of attention. And as Breda points out, it's almost as dangerous as driving impaired by a moderate amount of alcohol.

It's stupid to do either, no matter the state of the law.

You might beat the case, but you can't beat the physics.

staghounds said...

Although Miss Fatale's suggestion would be a strong encouragement to some of us to celldrive.

phlegmfatale said...

staghounds ...and it would be a strong incentive for some of us to wear the Saturday night footwear on a Tuesday morning.