I like to use my cell phone while biking, and my girlfriend hates it!

I am posting this so that my girlfriend and I can both see what others have to say. She is concerned about safety and so am I.

I believe I am doing it in a safe manner and would like to get others' opinions on this subject. I don't believe this is all that different from driving while using the phone, as long as they are done in a safe manner.

Firstly, I'd like to give my thoughts on cell phone in a car, and then compare to bicycling.

YES, I AGREE that using a cell phone in the car increases your chances for an accident. But so does eating, drinking a refreshing beverage, chewing gum, smoking, changing the stations/volume/CD on the stereo, adjusting your cruise control, pushing the button to electrically roll up or down a window, and turning the switch to activate your windshield wipers. Someone might also be able to pose an argument that all of these things actually DEcreases your chances of an accident, since without them all of those muscles might get stiff from non-use. By changing the radio stations you are excercising your wrist, fingers and arm, and perhaps this helps keep those muscles in a more ready situation for an emergency.

Over the years the car manufacturer's have improved the features in order to accomodate these "things" that people want to do while driving. Some of the enhancements might be considered luxury items, but if you think about it, they also help with safety. Surely pushing a button to electrically up/down your window takes less effort and IS SAFER than twirling the knob/handle to do so, or leaning across the seat for the passenger side! It's a lot easier to SCAN radio stations with the new stereos. They even now include pop-out cup holders. I wouldn't be surprised if the earlier cars didn't even have ashtrays! And maybe their windows didn't even open/close!

Communicating while driving via a cell phone is just a way of life for us. PERIOD!
I've had my cell phone for about 8 years now, and I've ALWAYS used the hands-free while in my car. I don't see any safety problem with this any more than someone who is drinking a soda or smoking a cigarette. I absolutely cannot imagine someone driving a car and NOT using a hands-free.

Just last Tuesday my hands-free broke. I thought I'd just wait for the weekend to shop for a new one. Tuesday night I wanted to make a call on my phone and did so, without the hands-free. I was QUITE FRIGHTENED when I was on that call! I had to hold the phone to my head with one hand. I felt I was at such a disadvantage at that point. I always thought that people today that drive cars without a hands-free are nuts. Well, now I think that they are insane and should be committed! I'm actually surprised that it was only recently that the laws were enacted that required the use of hands-free in a car.

There are features built into the phones that make it easier, and safer, to use. You have the one-button-call feature which allows you to call someone by pressing a single (or two) digit(s). The buttons are designed so that you can dial by FEELING them instead of actually reading them. And they also have the ability to dial by VOICE COMMAND! WONDERFUL STUFF !

Ok, so now back to the biking.

I'm sure everyone's situation is different, so I'm just going to tell you about mine.

I have mounted my flip phone onto the top of my stem with velcro. Unfortunately, I don't believe that a quality hands-free product exists that has a good enough noise-cancelling feature to work while on a bicycle. So the only way I could find to use the phone while biking is to actually have the flip phone open and up against my ear. Well, I figured out that I could do that, and the phone is thin enough that the strap from my helmet can hold it in place with tension. It's not so tight that should I fall off the bike it would most probably fall off the strap. In other words, I don't expect that if I got into an accident that I'd wind up with a cell phone in my mouth. The phone would dislodge immediately.

I also ride primarily on very smooth, very minimal traffice roads, or in our local gigantic park which has virtually no traffic thru the 1 mile lap. I am not a speedster, so I am only doing about 14-23mph.

When I want to place a call, I go very slow and when I end the call I go slow in order that I can remove the phone from the strap. After the call the phone is placed right in front of me velcroed to the stem.

I find it pleasureable to use my cell phone while biking. Of course once/if I join a bike club and I go out with other bikers then it would probably be rude to use the phone while biking, so then I wouldn't do it at all.

Ok, there you have it.

Comments?

Geez dude, couldn't you just spring for the piece that fits around your ear? It would be a lot less hassle and you would be able to keep your phone some place SAFE like a pocket and just voice dail.

As long as you can keep both hands doing what they are supposed to be doing (ever wonder how those folks that just have to express themselves with their hands while talking manage to use a phone?) and you don't try to multitask too much it should be okay although when I was a cab driver I made a point of looking at the people around me in their cars (trying to determine if they see me) and a lot of people that talked on phones not only had one hand busy with the phone but also had other things going on at the same time. Often they seemed to have this glazed look in their eyes and you knew their attention was else where and not on the road. Maybe your girlfriend sees this quality in you while your on the phone and finds it disturbing that you aren't effectively delegating your attention where it needs to be. Kinda makes me wonder when it's clear you don't have the sense to by a inexpensive earpiece for your phone and instead go through a bunch of contortions. Or maybe she finds it insulting that you would be more conciderate of some bike club strangers then you would be to her.

By the way sorry if I come across harsh. Cell phone use while driving was a pet peeve of mine when I was driving cab because I was on the road so much I would see at least 50 bonehead stunts a day. A lot of them involved people holding cell phones to their ears.

This has been discussed a whole lot. If you want to see what people on this forum think, see:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ght=cell+phone

Why don't you just pull over, stop, and make the call? Why are you out riding a bike if you're going to be on the phone?

Try leaving the phone behind and enjoying the ride.

ANY kind of distraction to the operator of a vehicle is hazardous. Phone talking is one of them, even with hands-free.

Including eating, drinking, smoking, flipping the radio controls. Just because the car manufaturers accomodate us by providing these controls doesn't mean it's a good idea to use them. McDonalds will sell me any number of Big Macs, doesn't mean I should buy all I am capable of eating.

YOU are responsible for your safety, not anyone else. You are the pilot, whether you are in the left-hand seat of an aircraft, powering a motorboat, on the saddle of your bike, or driving your car. Don't try to pass it off on anyone else, esp. not the equipment manufacturer.

My employer's (Schlumberger) safety dept. did a lot of research, and our company policy is: no cell phone while moving, even with hands-free. If you crash a vehicle on business, and you were talking on the phone, you could be terminated. People have been axed for this reason.

We have one of the lowest vehicle accidents rates in our industry. Which we are proud of.

I agree with your girlfriend. Safety issues notwithstanding, many cyclists ride in order to escape from cell phones, not bond with them.

Out of curiosity, what kind of calls are you possibly making while riding? Business calls? Chit-chatting with friends? Psychic hotline?

If someone riding with me made or answered a call, I would never ride with them again.
I consider it boorish, distasteful, and a serious breach of cycling etiquette.

Well, I'm referring to rides where I am by myself, and the calls are to friends/relatives. For any given 60 minute ride I might spend 15 minutes on the phone, not the whole ride. I think it kinda makes the ride more pleasurable and interesting!

Studies have shown that hands free devices make no difference in cell phone related traffic accidents. The problem is not what your hands are doing, it's what your brain is doing. I expect it's no difference with cycling if not worse.

Equating the risk of phone use to chewing gum, adjusting wipers, etc. is silly and is a denial tactic. Using the phone in a car carries similar risk as reading a book or watching TeeVee while driving.

I bring a cell phone with me in case of emergency's, but I would never attempt to talk on it while cycling. Phones are a distraction, chewing gum is not.

If you have nextel you can dc people while your riding like the messengers do but If you get a call from some one it's best to pull over and talk.

I ride out on quiet country roads where cars are a rarity, and I'll admit that I'll grab my phone when it rings....BUT.... I immediately begin slowing down from my pace when I feel it, then grab the phone as I'm pulling to the side of the road. Every once in awhile, I'll keep spinning along at ~5mph if I know it's just going to be a 5 second call, but keep in mind that I'm riding in backwoods, Indiana. Sometimes, for whatever reason, I'll take the bike/jogging trail, and I constantly see shirtless guys on mountain bikes, talking on their phones, weaving back and forth across the trail. I always scream "COMING AROUND YOUR LEFT!!!!" as loud as possible right in their ear when I see that sort of crap. The LEAST the slowpokes could do for anyone who is actually riding their bike is hold a straight line. Okay... rant over.

What is different about the distraction of a cell phone whether hand held or not and other distractions is that the caller cannot see your traffic situation and if you stop talking for a few seconds the caller demands attention by saying "are you there?" It is dangerous whether on bike or in a car. It is illegal to use an earphone on a bike in the USA. All states now accept the Univeral Vehicle Code.

I don’t understand how anyone can have the breath to carry-on a conversation on a cell phone while biking? When riding with someone, conversation is usually spoken in short bursts of verbige with a pause between sentences that would leave someone on the other end wondering if they were dropped.

With that said… I’m looking for a waterproof, easy access, cell phone holder for my bike. I often receive “emergency” calls from home (5 kids), or work (24/7) while riding. I see an average of 10 cars on my 13 mile commute. So I feel it safe to answer the phone, but I want easy access so I don’t have to come to a stop.

Zip lock baggie and stick it in your rear pocket.

simple, I will talk,but only after I parked my bike.

i refuse to talk while riding, and anyone who call bombs, me including my boss will be told to kindly "f---ing stop". Yes, i told my boss off for calling me 15 times in 3 minutes....I told him even in a car I will NOT answer a call, but instead will find a safe place to pull over and then call him back...if he call bombs me , I will not reply. I don't play that game. Just because you CAN use it while driving, doesnt mena you SHOULD.

It's funny how when it's buisiness, people think they can get away with being rude and outright dangerous behavior like this.

Anyways cell phones are the most useless items for some people....i actually saw two women who were ACROSS THE FREAKING STEET, using their camera phones to window shop with each other....now WTF is that? Some people make my head hurt

If my sister called me while I was on the bike, I'd ride right over to her house (which would be a fantastic workout) and kick her ass. Seriously though, it's dangerous and I can't think of any reason short of someone dying to talk to someone on the phone while riding. I carry mine at all times in case I need it, but it's not for casual conversation. It's packed in a trunck bag so I can't hear it if it rings.

I carry my cellphone in a cellphone holder probably deigned to be carried on a person, instead I have it wrapped around my handle bars. I carry it strictly for emergencies. If I receive a call, which is a rarity I will pull off the trail or road to take it but will not ride and talk.

What the...? Why don't you just cut your ride short to 45 minutes. Then you can talk to your heart's content without jeopardising other road/path users like me.

But then I suppose you blow red lights and stop signs, ride on the incorrect side, ride on the sidewalk and do all those other illegal things that really don't matter.

Now we are talking

Although mine is never turned on, and I only check for voice mail occassionally.........."What He Said".

I just leave mine on so i can hearit ringing and know I have to pull over somewhere and call them back...that is if i'm in an area where i can even be heard...morning traffic on first street is pure noise.

Exactly. This is my pet hate, even though it is an offence here, there are still thousands of drivers who carry on holding mobiles to their `thick`heads whilst trying hopelessly to control a 2ton vehicle with one hand. In my opinion, car manufacturers are irresponsible by putting all this electronic crap in vehicles. I know, they are just caterring for an increased demand from the public as technology constantly improves, but there has to come a point when legislation is brought forward to halt this insane practice. Enough is enough, there is too much carnage on our roads, due to idiototic driving without adding to it by installing more and more bloody gadgets to distract brain-dead numbties! Last week I saw a car pass me with a DVD screen built into his dashboard??!! I mean come on, this surely is illegal for crying out loud.

Personally, I only take my mobile with me when I go out riding on my own - just for emergencies. What did we use to do in the good old days without mobiles? When we used to drink from garden hoses, go out playing in the mud, disappear in the morning and come back at night and your parents never batted an eyelid, were scared stiff of a policeman etc. Society has gone too soft. People want their arses kicking nowadays. Sorry, rant over, flew off on a tangent there....

Anyway, Steve212, I would either take it with you if you really have to and stop to use it (set an example), or leave it behind and get a life back .

I only read the first post and have not read any other responses but since you asked here is my opinion

Cell Phones are only a way of life because you choose it PERIOD

Most of your argument for the use of cell phones is justification and full of excuses.

That phone call that you HAD to make with out your hands free was it a mater of life and death or could of it waited until you SAFELY pulled over and placed the call?

Can't you live with out your phone for a couple of hours while you ride?

Its attitudes like yours (spoiled if you ask me, wait you did) are what causes the problem. You act like talking on a cell phone is some kind or right, well it isn't.

I think this was someone's e-mail signature, but it seems to apply here:

Talk on your cell phone, eat your lunch, and fiddle with your radio; and when your luck runs out, you will have no one to blame but yourself.

If you can't figure it out for yourself, there is no explaining it to you.

Dan