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Drivers on cell phones clog traffic

Old 01-02-08, 06:42 PM
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Drivers on cell phones clog traffic

Somehow this doesn't surprise me

“At the end of the day, the average person’s commute is longer because of that person who is on the cell phone right in front of them,” says University of Utah psychology Professor Dave Strayer, leader of the research team. “That SOB on the cell phone is slowing you down and making you late.

“If you talk on the phone while you’re driving, it’s going to take you longer to get from point A to point B, and it’s going to slow down everybody else on the road,” says Joel Cooper, a doctoral student in psychology.
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Old 01-02-08, 07:02 PM
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While I agree with the point that cell phones while driving don't lead to anything good...

Actually, if you're late it's almost certainly because you didn't leave soon enough. My mom taught me to leave early enough so that even if traffic is bad I'll be at least 10 minutes early. I tell my kids "if you're not 5 minutes early, you're late."
I get so irritated at people who leave at the last possible second and then get foaming mad at everyone who slows them down by 2 seconds.
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Old 01-02-08, 11:31 PM
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A university research team just figured out what Joe six pack knew eighteen years ago years ago?
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Old 01-02-08, 11:35 PM
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My shift starts at 0600 and ends at 0600 the next day. Traffic is usually moving pretty good, so its no problem. When I'm at work I drive an F-150 with more LED's on it then a Christmas tree, so people tend to get out of the way.

-Nate
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Old 01-03-08, 12:12 AM
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Originally Posted by ItsJustMe
Actually, if you're late it's almost certainly because you didn't leave soon enough.
+1. Though there are only finitely many hours in a day, and there are so many things we have to do each day. Sometimes one has to bite the bullet and agree to an appointment to which one might be late if the traffic is bad. You can't always give yourself a twenty-minute safety cushion (which is what I like to do - not because of traffic, but because I might get a puncture).
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Old 01-03-08, 12:16 AM
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Originally Posted by unkchunk
A university research team just figured out what Joe six pack knew eighteen years ago years ago?
But it's official now... at least until the opposing paper is released
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Old 01-03-08, 12:49 AM
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The same is true for cyclists using cell phone around here. And none of the ones I've seen doing it used helmets.
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Old 01-03-08, 01:07 AM
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Well, I'm never late because of this sort of thing. I leave myself a window of an hour on the car-leg of my morning commute. If an accident happens on one particular road, which is heavily used in the direction I travel in the morning, I am basically trapped there because there are no exits. I decided on an hour because that's approximately the amount of time I was stuck in traffic last time there was a collision, and it was pretty much a worst case scenario. Usually means I've got plenty of time to ride around campus before classes though, and that's a good thing.
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Old 01-03-08, 02:55 AM
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I think when people are trying to turn the wheel with one hand while holding the phone on the other is where things really slow down.
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Old 01-03-08, 09:03 AM
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Originally Posted by ItsJustMe
While I agree with the point that cell phones while driving don't lead to anything good...

Actually, if you're late it's almost certainly because you didn't leave soon enough. My mom taught me to leave early enough so that even if traffic is bad I'll be at least 10 minutes early. I tell my kids "if you're not 5 minutes early, you're late."
I get so irritated at people who leave at the last possible second and then get foaming mad at everyone who slows them down by 2 seconds.
I have to say, even that technique doesn't work in a lot of major cities anymore. Having lived in the LA and now metro Wash, DC areas - traffic snarls can appear out of nowhere and turn a 20 minute drive into an hour. The traffic is outrageously bad and often unpredictable. The 10 minute trick doesn't work even for a relatively short drive.

That doesn't excuse driving like a moron, but I can completely understand the frustration, and when traffic is constantly on the brink of turning bad there's no room for someone who's going to slow down the whole mess. I've seen research lately that shows how traffic 'mistakes' like the cell phone idiot and waiting too long to brake (and then jamming them) propagates backwards and can make a traffic snarl out of nothing.

Basically, in places like LA, DC, SF, Atlanta, etc - there's no time for moseying anymore. Move it or get out of the way.

Of course, I got so sick of dealing with horrendously underengineered roads and morons who can't drive that I just gave up alltogether and ride my bike to work now. It's been a whole lot more pleasant.
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Old 01-03-08, 09:11 AM
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Part of the problem with old cities is that the roads are poorly designed for modern use.
Many civil engineers in the 40~60's just never expected the traffic volume in 2k

When I'm driving, I just tell myself "relax, you'll get there when you get there, you're not saving any time by aggressive driving."
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Old 01-03-08, 10:32 AM
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Here is a simple solution.
Wide-Area Cell Phone Signal Blocker (40M Radius)

https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7059
Just mount it somewhere that it will not be in the way or hazardous in the case of an accident. Make sure the antennas are not blocked. It uses 7 amps of power so make sure you turn it off if the engine is not running. 12 volt DC to 110 AC inverter is the easiest way to run it from your vehicle. It's most likely illegal but no one cares as it shuts down cell phones of idiot people trying to drive and talk on the cell phone at the same time. You'll be amazed at how well people around you start driving when there cell phones are not usable.
Here is one suitable for your bicycle.
https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4355
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Old 01-03-08, 12:54 PM
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I am curious if anyone has tried a signal blocker on their bike. I personally would be afraid that drivers attention would shift to trying to figure out what's wrong with their phone and try redialing the number. Somehow them continue to talk on the cell phone sounds a bit better to me.
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Old 01-03-08, 01:29 PM
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+1. That thing will just get them looking away from the road to redial the dropped call. It makes good sense if it's permanently installed somewhere so people *know* they can't get access (e.g. in a classroom), but makes no sense on the road.
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Old 01-03-08, 03:26 PM
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+1 on forcing the call to drop will just distract them even more.
Not to mention that that thing is illegal as hell.
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Old 01-03-08, 06:13 PM
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Originally Posted by AEO
Part of the problem with old cities is that the roads are poorly designed for modern use.
In my view, it's more that modern road use is poorly designed for human existence.
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Old 01-03-08, 06:46 PM
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Originally Posted by n4zou
Here is a simple solution.
Wide-Area Cell Phone Signal Blocker (40M Radius)

https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7059
Just mount it somewhere that it will not be in the way or hazardous in the case of an accident. Make sure the antennas are not blocked. It uses 7 amps of power so make sure you turn it off if the engine is not running. 12 volt DC to 110 AC inverter is the easiest way to run it from your vehicle. It's most likely illegal but no one cares as it shuts down cell phones of idiot people trying to drive and talk on the cell phone at the same time. You'll be amazed at how well people around you start driving when there cell phones are not usable.
Here is one suitable for your bicycle.
https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4355
A better way to get other drivers to behave is to buy a police auction slick-top cruiser, and make sure it still has the pushbar and spotlight(s). Something like this Ford Crown Victoria P71:


Watch 'em squirm.
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Old 01-03-08, 07:03 PM
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Originally Posted by chephy
In my view, it's more that modern road use is poorly designed for human existence.
+100

Modern roads carrying modern cars have only been with us for about 100 years... you'd think we'd have seen the folly by now of adding "just one more lane."
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Old 01-03-08, 07:28 PM
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Originally Posted by syn0n
A better way to get other drivers to behave is to buy a police auction slick-top cruiser, and make sure it still has the pushbar and spotlight(s). Something like this Ford Crown Victoria P71:


Watch 'em squirm.
Blue with black top cycling jersey works for me.
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Old 01-04-08, 05:15 AM
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Originally Posted by chephy
In my view, it's more that modern road use is poorly designed for human existence.
Ain't that the truth
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Old 01-04-08, 08:24 AM
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Originally Posted by chephy
In my view, it's more that modern road use is poorly designed for human existence.
Yes, watch this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rwwxrWHBB8
(bike friendly communities, posted over in "viral bike video" thread) - Check out Copenhagen and a few other cities around the world to see cities that were designed for people, not machines. It makes me almost cry to think that everyone could be living like that, yet we live in the hellholes we have built.
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Old 01-04-08, 01:53 PM
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1 - It amazes me that people in the USA are using cell phones whilst driving - it's a criminal offence in Europe

2 - hell holes you have created - It will change, just as soon as the car becomes impossible to run, OK so you'll have to 'liberate' a few more oil rich countries before that happens, but it's a case of 'when' not 'if'
Even in the USA, the bike will have it's day, just maybe not for a couple of decades yet
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Old 01-04-08, 02:15 PM
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My theory is that people don't drive their cars anymore. They drive their homes. Air conditioner/ filtered air, AM/FM/CD/satellite radio, leather reclining seating, back-up video cameras, bluetooth, power windows/ door locks/ sun roofs, TV/ DVD player. No wonder there is so much road rage. The other driver hasn't just cut you off, they committed a home invasion.
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Old 01-04-08, 03:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Mr. Underbridge
Of course, I got so sick of dealing with horrendously underengineered roads and morons who can't drive that I just gave up alltogether and ride my bike to work now. It's been a whole lot more pleasant.
I do that, and I don't even use any freeway on my route -- both work and home are here in the Capitol Hill area.

And I really try to not gloat about it..
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Old 01-04-08, 06:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Brains
2 - hell holes you have created - It will change, just as soon as the car becomes impossible to run, OK so you'll have to 'liberate' a few more oil rich countries before that happens, but it's a case of 'when' not 'if'
Even in the USA, the bike will have it's day, just maybe not for a couple of decades yet
It's not going to happen in a flash. It's going to be a long, slow climb. Everything I've seen, and the people I've talked to that have followed the energy markets for decades and really know their stuff, say that there's still a HELL of a lot of oil out there, it's just not cheap to get out. So we have enough oil to keep going at our current rate for perhaps hundreds of years, but at the same time it's actually fairly likely that we'll see $250 barrels of oil by 2012, and only going up from there.

But that won't stop cars. They'll get smaller, certainly, and they'll have to switch to other fuels, but there will still be cars, and there will still be morons driving them.
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