Advocacy & Safety - Is handsfree safer?

You didn't ask if hands free was safe enough to not be concerned, you asked if it was safer. If that wasn't the case, my response would have been different.

Well, yeah, that's technically correct, but reading what people actually wrote a lot more people than I expected said hands free was safe enough.

Well, yeah, that's technically correct, but reading what people actually wrote a lot more people than I expected said hands free was safe enough.

It's all those "other drivers" that can't do two things at once. "We" all know that "we" can, no problem.
Smoking cigarettes with filters is MUCH safer than the cigarettes without filters.

Hands-free phone use is probably safer than regular cell phone use when driving, but probably also more dangerous that no use at all. Anything that distracts a motorist is a negative.

Hands-free phone use is probably safer than regular cell phone use when driving, but probably also more dangerous that no use at all. Anything that distracts a motorist is a negative.
I agree generally. I do think there is a danger however that people may think its safe enough to use hands free, so they may be more likely to use a cell phone than not.

Overall my concern is that people in general don't take driving seriously enough. It is a great responsibility to drive and culturally in the US (as evidenced by what I see, television, movies, car advertisements, etc) it is viewed as more of a fun game, a right, an outlet for personality, etc. - everything but a serious undertaking that if not done with great care can lead to death of one and those around them.

Al

Hands-free phone use is probably safer than regular cell phone use when driving, but probably also more dangerous that no use at all. Anything that distracts a motorist is a negative.
Another thing that's really bad is dialing while driving.

Even talking while driving is not good.

Last Thursday a young driver turned left in front of my car. He was hidden behind a long line of stopped cars. He slipped through a gap and suddenly appeared in front of me. I skidded to a stop and almost hit him. If I had been talking or distracted, that few extra feet that saved me might not have existed.

It's all those "other drivers" that can't do two things at once. "We" all know that "we" can, no problem.
Smoking cigarettes with filters is MUCH safer than the cigarettes without filters.

Well not to be too elitist about it... but I do think that cyclists tend to be more aware of their environment and the traffic situations than the average driver... by training on the bicycle, and putting ourselves into traffic situations, we become more aware of some of the hazards out there and therefore probably are better drivers and a bit less prone to distraction when driving. Now these obviously are assumptions... but it would be interesting to test wouldn't, it.

Well not to be too elitist about it... but I do think that cyclists tend to be more aware of their environment and the traffic situations than the average driver... by training on the bicycle, and putting ourselves into traffic situations, we become more aware of some of the hazards out there and therefore probably are better drivers and a bit less prone to distraction when driving. Now these obviously are assumptions... but it would be interesting to test wouldn't, it.

Probably not a bad assumption really. We would almost certainly tend to be somewhat more aware of cyclists when driving, wouldn't we? Plus we have an added benefit of analyzing situations and conditions from a more defensive standpoint.