I thought cyclists knew this

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RonH

Not sure if this has been posted before but here goes.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20060814/tc_usatoday/cellphonecallsaffectdriversbrains

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tbdean

While I agree that many motorists concentrate on their conversation and not their driving, I wonder how accurate these reports are. I rarely drive now (work at home) but when I did my conversations went something like this:

phone: * ring *
me: pushes button on bluetooth headset
phone: * whatever * isn't working
me: have you tried rebooting?
phone: no, I'll try that!
me: pushes button on bluetooth headset

I think it's possible to talk on the phone and concentrate on driving, it's just not done very often. There is a difference between the driver ignoring the conversation and the conversationalist ignoring the driving that I don't think these studies are taking into account.

Off topic: Ron, I'm looking forward to the Share the Road Challenge on the 4th! Although I'm going to wuss out and do the 20 mile option. :)

wahoonc

I drive alot, our company policy is handsfree or headsets. Period. If the conversation is going to last more than a few seconds, hang up, pull over and call the person back. I won't answer the phone if I am in heavy traffic or trying to make a move in traffic. If I am on the wide open interstate with the cruise set I may take a longer call. Like everything else in this world it takes common sense and responsiblilty to use it properly. Unfortunately both seem to be in short supply.

Aaron:)

nm+

tbdean

The issue is they way the brain treats a phone conversation.

So are we going to outlaw talking while in the car? What about talking back to the host of talk radio?

Some conversations, yes, you can not (should not) have them while driving. Anything that requires deep thought, emotion, etc.

But for the other 99% of conversations - heck, I don't pay attention to most conversations even when I have them in person. I don't believe they would affect my driving.

LittleBigMan

Talking on a cellphone while driving sharply reduces brain activity needed to keep track of road conditions and leads drivers to gaze at things without their brains actually seeing them, according to a psychologist at the University of Utah.

That would explain why I saw a driver on a cellphone try to turn the wrong way down a one-way street, even though it was completely packed with cars waiting at a red light.

That would have been about as bad as the time I ran my bicycle into a parked car as a small kid. I was staring at my front tire, and WHAM ended up on somebody's hood.

DataJunkie

Thou shalt not while driving:
1) Talk on a cellphone
2) Eat
3) Drink
4) Listen to music
5) Fiddle with the radio
6) Adjust your cruise control.
7) Talk to your passengers
8) Daydream
9) Perform certain acts with your SO.
10) Adjust yourself
11) Scratch yourself
12) Put on makeup
13) Fix your hair
14) Sing along with your music
15) Anything else I have forgotten to mention

In fact, how about locking the drive into an imobile position with eye clamps to force their eyelids to stay open? Similar to what you see on tv when someone is being brain washed. :p

SamHouston

Hands-free is no safer than a standard phone. The issue is they way the brain treats a phone conversation. If it wasthe hand off the wheel, manual transmissions would have been banned decades ago.

For the purposes of that study it may be that handsfree is no safer, but it is safer. Many cell phone users will consider thier conversation more important than using their left hand to reach for the turn signal when turning or changing lanes. Others enter their "happy place" and no longer shoulder check blind spots or use the rear/side mirror, many do all these things.

I've used a radio & phone for years while riding or driving and it can & should change the way you do both activities simultaneously. A great many do not consider this as driving is more common in their lives than walking or eating. Eventually they join the statistics because they became complacent and added one too many activities/distractions to their driving time.

SouthTJ

I've said that ever since I got my first cell phone in 1990 that you can't fully concentrate on driving while talking on the phone. With or without a headset it doesn't matter. And it is NOT a hands on the wheel thing. How many people do you see driving with both hands on the wheel even when not on the phone. It is rare.

Oh, and datajunkie, I've got to add one to your list.

16. Playing the violin.

I actually saw a guy driving a Suburban on the interstate at 70mph steering with his knees and playing the violin. Incredible.

Brian Sorrell

But for the other 99% of conversations - heck, I don't pay attention to most conversations even when I have them in person. I don't believe they would affect my driving.

Another recent study (I'll have to dig to find the reference, but I think it was a British group that did it), found that, like drunk drivers, cell phone drivers do not feel that their abilities are impaired. Turns out that they're typically wrong. We tend to be really terrible judges of our own abilities.

nm+

So are we going to outlaw talking while in the car? What about talking back to the host of talk radio?

Some conversations, yes, you can not (should not) have them while driving. Anything that requires deep thought, emotion, etc.

But for the other 99% of conversations - heck, I don't pay attention to most conversations even when I have them in person. I don't believe they would affect my driving.
I said phone conversation. Apparently, the brain tries to picture the person you're talking to over a phone distracting you far more than any conversation.

tomcryar

17) reading a book
18) getting a bj and the one that bothered me most:
19) feeding a baby in the back seat.
I have seen these things. Cellphones are not the most dangerous for drivers to do.

Brian Sorrell

Cellphones are not the most dangerous for drivers to do.

Nobody claims that cellphones are the most dangerous things to use in the car. Plenty of studies have been coming out showing that drivers on the phone are as likely (or more likely in some studies) to have or cause accidents as drunk drivers or tired drivers. The fact that cellphone usage is not the most dangerous does not suggest that we should do nothing about the activity. The issue is raised because, unlike playing the violin or reading books or juggling chainsaws or performing open-heart surgery, etc., cellphones have become a common driving accessory. This coupled with fairly clear test results suggests that regulation is in order.

Runaway Cyclist

I actually saw a guy driving a Suburban on the interstate at 70mph steering with his knees and playing the violin. Incredible.
Funny! :)

But tell me... you are kidding, right? :eek:

nm+

18) getting a bj and the one that bothered me most:

Hey, whats with this? :D :rolleyes: ;)

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