Home › Forums › Open Discussion › HANG UP AND DRIVE!
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September 22, 2008 at 10:16 pm #588140
JenVMemberSeriously. I see so many people still with a cell phone glued to their ear while driving around West Seattle…completely cluless as to what is going on around them, not able to control the car with one hand- you name it. Seriously, get off the phone and drive – or get a headset.
September 22, 2008 at 10:30 pm #640620
acemotelParticipanttotally, JenV. Yesterday: a moron backing out onto Admiral Way (the busy part) from her garage, with one hand no less, totally oblivious to traffic in both directions, chatting away, laughing, etc… on her cell phone. grrr
September 22, 2008 at 10:31 pm #640621
CaitParticipantA little tip from a cell phone addict if you don’t have bluetooth: put it on speaker phone and stick it in that little hole in the door by the handle (most cars have one). It’s close enough to hear and be heard and it still keeps it out of your hands! Happiness for everyone! :)
September 22, 2008 at 10:36 pm #640622
JohnMMemberI would really like the Legislature make it a primary violation, rather than a secondary one.
September 22, 2008 at 10:45 pm #640623
guidosmomMemberI have seen so many people in West Seattle driving while talking on their cell phones. It is SO annoying. Last week I stopped at the cross walk in the junction to let someone walk, they nearly got run over by a big SUV with the driver talking on the cell phone.
September 22, 2008 at 10:45 pm #640624
datamuseParticipantI have to wonder how much hands-free sets really help. (My car has one: the Prius has onboard in-dash Bluetooth as an option.) True, it frees up your hands, but you’re still having a conversation with someone on the phone while you’re driving. I’ve seen studies that claim that going hands-free doesn’t alleviate the distraction issue at all.
That said, I mostly just wish that people paid closer attention while driving generally. I commute to Tacoma five days a week and taking transit looks better all the time–not just because of gas prices (given the time it would take, gas has to get significantly more expensive before transit would be cost effective for me) but because I regularly encounter potentially fatal inattention on the road.
September 22, 2008 at 10:47 pm #640625
villagegreenMemberExactly. What’s the point in the law if you can’t be pulled over for it? I still see people on their phone every time I drive these days. I would hazzard to say that you’re self-proclaiming yourself an ass if you still talk without a headset and drive.
September 22, 2008 at 10:50 pm #640626
AnonymousInactiveHeadsets are no safer than cell phones. It’s the conversation itself that is distracting. Neither should be allowed if you want less accidents.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/02/19/cell_talk_is_what_distracts_drivers/
September 22, 2008 at 10:52 pm #640627
AnonymousInactiveI just wanted clarity in that the title of this rant is “hang up and drive”, but talking on a cell phone is still legal. So, “hang up” would not be accurate so much as “put it down and drive”…. just a thought.
It leads, though, to question if driving without actually holding a phone is any safer than driving while still talking? I would assume that just discussion alone is taking away from much of your concentration to driving. I do see the point, however, of having both hands on the wheel.
Anyone know the statistics?
September 22, 2008 at 10:53 pm #640628
AnonymousInactiveOh, thanks, JT, we were writing at the same time.
September 22, 2008 at 10:55 pm #640629
RSMemberYeah, we shouldn’t be allowed to have passengers in the car either. They are very distracting when they try to have conversations with you. And babies and children in car seats? Super distracting. Babies should stay at home. Oh, and no eating in the car either! Listening to music should probably also be banned as it often leads to car dancing, a leading cause of accidents.
;) On a serious note, yes, hang up and drive.
September 22, 2008 at 10:58 pm #640630
AnonymousInactiveStudy shows passengers do not have the same affect.
September 22, 2008 at 11:00 pm #640631
datamuseParticipant“Car dancing”–sounds like something from a Pixar movie. :D
I’ve read about licensing in some states where if you’re a teenager, you can’t carry passengers in the car (other than your parents) for a certain amount of time after you get your license because of the distraction issue. Heck, the driver who hit Stephen King all those years ago was distracted–by his dog, who was in the back of his van.
Something I’ve always meant to look up is whether accident rates increased with the invention of the car stereo. And then, did they go down again as people became accustomed to them?
Although I have an on-board hands-free kit, I avoid talking on the phone while driving as much as possible. It’s crazy enough out there as it is. (Though, if you really want excitement while driving, I recommend Greece. Highest accident rate in Europe!)
September 22, 2008 at 11:02 pm #640632
AnonymousInactiveRS – You say “yes, hang up and drive”, but that is my question. It is STILL legal to talk on the phone, just not be holding it.
Are you of the camp that NO telephonic conversation should take place?
What, exactly, is the rant here?
September 22, 2008 at 11:04 pm #640633
CaitParticipantExactly, RS! Then what do we do about carpooling – swear them all to silence as they drive? What would have become of “On The Road” if talking while driving was illegal. If you can’t talk and drive at the same time, YOU SHOULD NOT BE DRIVING PERIOD! Whether in person or on bluetooth. If you can’t speak on a bluetooth and drive you shouldn’t be allowed to have a radio either. And there shouldn’t be cigarette lighters because that takes up hand use. And no air conditioning. Or windshield wipers. BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL IN A DEATH GRIP OR NO DICE! Some of us are just better drivers than others all around, I hate to say it and cell phones exacerbate the problem for those who probably can’t drive well in the first place.
September 22, 2008 at 11:04 pm #640634
RSMemberDudes, chill. I was JOKING. It’s always an amusing conversation because a LOT of things can be deadly distractions when you’re driving.
I am totally in support of the “no holding a cell phone while driving” law. So I amend my previous statement: Hit speakerphone/enable bluetooth and drive!
September 22, 2008 at 11:07 pm #640635
RSMemberThanks Cait for getting my drift, as it were. In my family we call this “imploding a joke”. It would probably help in some of the other threads when we all start taking ourselves too seriously. :)
September 22, 2008 at 11:08 pm #640636
JenVMembermy rant is this. People who are not paying attention while they are driving. Phone to the ear, trying to turn the corner with one hand. Going 10 miles under the speed limit, phone to the ear. Pulling out into traffic without looking, phone to the ear. Yes, talking while driving at all is very distracting- but doing so while operating a 3000+ lb vehicle with one hand is just plain stupid.
I am hyper-vigilant, though. Even when I have a passenger and we’re having a conversation – I never take my eyes off the road. I had been using a blue-tooth headset for the past two years- it recently died on me and I don’t miss it.
My rant is with people on the cell phones, yes. But it is also with people who just don’t pay attention in general – it’s the claims adjuster in me, I guess.
Sorry if that wasn’t clear enough for some of you.
September 22, 2008 at 11:10 pm #640637
JenVMemberon a side note, I used to carpool with someone who would TURN FULLY AROUND and talk to the person in the backseat while he was driving. Great way to wake up in the morning- abject terror works better than coffee.
September 22, 2008 at 11:10 pm #640638
CaitParticipantHA! I got the joke. Cell phone etiquette is a hot button issue for me this week as I got SIGHED AT for speaking on a cell phone OUTDOORS and rather quietly.
People need to lighten up about the cell phones. I think that when we can’t eavesdrop on both sides of a conversations that are going on around us we feel alienated and left out and we get UNDULY hostile. It’s an excuse for people to crab about others. Lay off it. Unless they are screaming indoors or in the company of someone else (their family when at a restaurant, a Starbucks barista trying to take their order, a waitress, etc) how is it any different than carrying on a conversation with someone else in your presence? If they are in a situation where you would not be as peeved if the other person was right there with them, why are you so angry?
As a rabid and unabashed eavesdropper (and creative writer, which is my excuse for the unobtrusive nosiness *hehe*) I sometimes just find myself peeved because I can’t eavesdrop on your WHOLE conversation. If more people were honest with themselves I think you may agree that that’s really all that’s going on.
…total threadjack, but I needed to vent. Thanks for the ears.
September 22, 2008 at 11:11 pm #640639
ErikParticipantreminds me of a talk moshé gave…’how do you pay attention?’
September 22, 2008 at 11:40 pm #640640
JenVMemberpeople who have a phone glued to the ear are less likely to be paying attention – maybe it’s just my observation, but that is what it seems like to me. I still see people texting while driving, for crying out loud. My other point is- it’s against the law. I wish the cops could pull you over for it instead of it being a secondary offense.
September 22, 2008 at 11:46 pm #640641
barbMemberNo, the absolute “best” is the person who is talking on the cell phone (without a handsfree option) AND smoking a cigarette. Because I was behind that person today. Not a single bit of their brain was on their driving.
September 22, 2008 at 11:50 pm #640642
JanSParticipantI decided a long, long time ago that NO phone call that can’t wait for 15 minutes until I get where I’m going. Chatting with a girlfriend, a husband, a mom, a daughter..not important. My friends know this…and if they call when I’m driving there is this wonderful thing on my phone called VOICEMAIL. If it’s important they’ll leave a message. Mostly, my cell phone is used for my business, and I don’t have to be available for clients 24-7 I finally figured out.
I, too, am amazed at how many people still use their phones in the car. Perhaps when they rear end some guy, they’ll get a hint when they get a ticket for it…but don’t count on it.
September 23, 2008 at 12:30 am #640643
datamuseParticipantWell, Cait, I gotta tell ya…it’s not the conversations that get me, it’s the ringtones.
I work in a library at a university. There is no better indicator of the stress levels during finals week than other students’ reactions when someone’s cell phone starts blaring Britney at full volume, especially on the upper floors where any talking, on the phone or otherwise, is strongly discouraged.
You’re right, a conversation on a mobile phone isn’t really any more disruptive than an in-person conversation. The bloody ringtones, though…and don’t get me started on cellphones going off when I’m trying to teach a class. Talk about rude.
Yeah, off topic, I know.
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