Should Cellular phone conversations be banned while driving?

[midnight Target]

17,448 were killed in alcohol-related crashes -- representing 41 percent of all traffic deaths. <~~now that is a good reason to make allcohall illegal,,,,i

alcohol kills, but you want to outlaw allcohall?

make up your mind.

[hyena426]

while driving!! ,,lol<~~not illegal for drinking,,just while driving!!,,does 57 death toll anuff for it?,lol,,i would say over 10,000 deaths a year makes allcohall much more deadly than 57 cell phone deaths,,,,if i ran into a freeway that said,,,drunk drivers this way,,and cell phones this way,,,i would go the cell phone route anyday,,lol<~~seen anuff drunk drivers and cell phone drivers,,but atleast cell phone people keep there cars on the road and in the right lane most of the time,,lol

[lazs2]

fatty... yes I am saying exactly that.   Just as I can "look" at the rearview mirror or the guages.... I can "look" at the passenger and talk and drive at the same time.   It does not require the amount of concentration that is required to tulips or to convey expression over the phone.

mt... exactly... I don't want to outlaw anything... I just want people to be accountable.    shoot someone who doesn't deserve it... pay the price..  crash your car cause you were drunk or/and on a cell phone... pay the price.  

People allready pay the price for not being competent drivers... they are ticketed, pay more insurance etc... I am saying that there should be additional penalties for dileberatly driving impaired.   Driving drunk or on a cell phone is driving deliberately impaired.   If it can be proven that you were in a heated conversation with your passenger or spending half a minute looking at the radio while finding a station.... the same should apply.
lazs

[Dinger]

life-saving operations involving cellphones:
Well, most can and should be done by a passenger or on the side of a road.  Still, do you expect to get ticketed for calling 911 to report a grisly accident?
"I'm sorry sir, I'm going to have to write that up."
"well, back there a bigrig jacknifed and rolled over a schoolbus! I was calling for help."
"That's no excuse.  They can get help themselves"
Yeah, right.  That's it.

I say ban them.  Enforcement will end up being something like seatbelts: Only if you're driving dangerously or otherwise pissing off a cop are you gonna get in trouble.  If you're driving well enough to spot a police car and stop moving your mouth, you won't get ticketed, and you shouldn't.
Better yet, ban driver use of cellphones and raise the interstate speed limit to 95mph.

[capt. apathy]

it's not the talking on the cell thats a problem (not a whole lot different than talking to your passenger, IMO)

 it's the talking on the cell while, reading the file clutched in your hand (that's also trying to hold the wheel), with the biefcase open beside you, as you reach in and enter crap on your laptop.

btw-  for any ladys reading,  don't put on you make-up while riving either.

[Replicant]

Hand-held phone use in a motor vehicle has been banned in the UK.  The use of hands-free phones are advised against in the UK 'Highway Code' and therefore the Police will still pull you up if they suspect you of using a hands free device.  If an accident occurs then it will be considered as a contributory factor to the accident and yuu maybe prosecuted.

[SOB]

Lazs, I don't know what the hell you're doing, but you must be doing it wrong if your phone conversations involve asses.


SOB

[Mini D]

Cell phone use of any kind should be banned while driving.  So should the following things:

Smoking
Being Female
Being Oriental
Being 16-25 years old
Being older than 55 years old

There's alot that could be done to make the roads safer... it seems that cell phones are a minor drop in the bucket.

MiniD

[StSanta]

It's banned here.

One doesn't have a right to use a car on the road system of a nation. It's a priviledge. As such, perhaps some restrictions are in order to ensure the safety of others.

Lazs suggestion is sensible enough - only it won't save the person who was killed in the cell phone induced accident. Perhaps it'll work as a deterrant - then again, most drivers think they're above average, so probably not.

My philosophy is that you either drive or talk on the phone - not both at the same time.

I'm actually more worried when I am on the freeway in a car than when I am scuba diving or rock climbing. In the latter, YOU are in control - death or injury is a result of your own mistakes. On the freeway, your safety is partly in the hands of some half blind speed maniac who likes to talk on the cell phone - i.e the worst possible driver imaginable.

Since people can't drive, perhaps it's ok to ensure that their abilities aren't further reduced.

Haven't seen many woman putting up makeup in the car here in DK. Once or twice. Seen it plenty of times in normal video shoots of American women though. VERY odd to see a woman looking in the rear mirrow outting lipstick on. So irresponsible it's unbelievable - should be punishable by jail.

[lazs2]

oh... I have a lot of views on driving... I don't think that a person should be allowed to drive till they get him out on a skidpad or that he should be able to drive on the freeway until he can prove he can panic stop from 70 mph in the wet.   Bet there would be a lot less women tailgating each other at 80 mph in a pouring rain...

if you are distracted or impaired in any way and it can be proven then you should have increased penalties up to neglegent manslaughter.  

I believe cell phones are extremely distracting for the majority of folks..   I believe most folks are impaired at a blood alc level of about .12   there are exceptions.

ok sob... since I was in the dictionary anyway....

"sob    (sob)  v., sobbed, sob•bing,  n.— v.i.1. to weep with a convulsive catching of the breath. 2. to make a sound resembling this. — v.t.3. to utter with sobs. 4. to put, send, etc., by sobbing or with sobs: to sob oneself to sleep. — n.5. the act of sobbing. 6. any sound suggesting this. "

lazs

[bounder]

Talking on a mobile phone while driving is more dangerous than being over the legal alcohol limit, according to research.
Tests by scientists at the Transport Research Laboratory said drivers on mobiles had slower reaction times and stopping times than those under the influence of alcohol.

And it said hands-free kits were almost as dangerous as hand-held phones.

 
Reaction times are nearly 50% slower when talking on a mobile
 

Using a hand-held mobile while driving is illegal in more than 30 countries, but in the UK drivers are usually prosecuted for dangerous or careless driving.

 

Research was done at the TRL driving simulator. So not unequivocal by any means, but very suggestive.

[MwXX]

http://www.callertimes.com/ccct/local_news/article/0,1641,CCCT_811_1706921,00.html



Dont know if it went through, but heres an article for you.

[loser]

I say ban them. Even the handsfree ones.

Anyone I know that has a cellphone cant drive worth crap when they are on them.

Where i live you can get a ticket for eating, cellphoning it up, or doing the other stupid things that lazs mentioned called "driving without due care and attention."  

Hell most people i know with cellphones cant even walk without crashing into stuff while yapping away on those stupid phones.

Oh and laz i got one better.

All drivers should have to take a course and ride a motorcycle for at least a year before driving a car or truck. I know for me the instant i started riding I became a much better and "defensive" driver.

[maxtor]

Florida Highway Patrol released figures that cellphones saved more lives than were lost.  I will try find it.

[mrsid2]

Of course the cellular brings way more benefit than danger.. It's a must if you travel anywhere.

However simultanious speaking and driving is a TOTALLY individual issue. Some people can't drive while talking some can. Some people shouldn't be let to drive at all let alone talk while doing it!

There are so many different types of people on the road.. There are certain females that would never pass the roadtest if I was the instructor.. So maybe what's needed is to include a test in the driving school. Cell talking while driving.. If you fail you're not allowed to talk on cell while driving. However if your driving is not affected, you get the permit.