sbhikes

Do you think handsfree cell phones are safer than the regular kind? Sometimes they want laws against using cell phones while driving unless they are hands free. But I don't think handsfree cell phones are safer. Do you?

operator

No.

bennyk

Yes, and it's not even close.

It would not have to be much of a safety improvement to qualify as "safer."

bk

blue_neon

Handsfree would have to be safer then holding a mobile phone while driving. Although you are still concentrating on the call, with hands free its just like talking to someone it the car. Plus you dont have to stress about holding your phone up with one hand, and trying to do everything else which is illegal. Not talking, is always safer then talking, but handsfree does make a big difference I feel.

AndrewP

It doesnt make any difference what type of phone you are using, because the danger is caused by what the phone does to your mind - takes attention away from driving.

blue_neon

Well so does talking to people in a car, takes your mind away from driving. If you think about it, holding a phone while driving adds extra concentration on holding the phone itself. With handsfree, your eyes and hands are to move freely like you would normally driving. Even though it dosn't produce 100% concentration for driving, it makes a difference, and its also Legal.

jaldridge

Yes, I'm sure that handsfree cellphones are safer than ones you hold. Not much safer, but marginally. I fly small planes IFR, and if properly trained, you can do a LOT and still attend to the task at hand. I think the main problem with cellphones is that the conversation is rarely related to the task of driving, so it's distracting. I think the data on this are pretty good. - Jim

blue_neon

Would those be Cessna's or Pipers?

sbhikes

That's what I think. I know everybody is different, but I can't talk on the phone and drive at all. I don't know how some people do it. I do know that even when talking to people who are physically present some people have to stop talking to handle difficult situations in the car. That happened today when I was going to lunch with my co-workers. Getting on the freeway was a little hairy and they guy driving had to stop talking and concentrate on what he was doing. After he got on, then he could converse.

blue_neon

It exactly the same as having a conversation in the car. Exept I would think that the conentration rate would be higher, because you HAVE to talk and think when your on a call, unlike when the person is right next to you, your not under 'pressure'. Still you have to admit that handsfree would make a difference.

Dutchy

As has been mentioned previously, talking to a passenger is not nearly as distracting as talking on a phone. A phone call requires constant talking whereas a passenger can see if the driver is busy and can pause the conversation until the driver is ready to talk.
I don't believe hands free is any safer. The user still has to dial numbers to make a call, which requires the driver to look away from the road. Even with hands-free there will always be those people who decide to SMS whilst driving and that is even more dangerous.
From memory Germany and a few other countries have banned hands-free and "normal" mobile phones completely while driving.

Down here mobiles are banned while driving. The police issue about 3000 fines per year. I think the fine is currently $315, plus a loss of 3 demerit points.

CHEERS.

Mark

DCCommuter

Totally unscientific, but I don't like handsfree. It's harder to see that a driver is using the cell phone. I like to be able to see them and avoid them.

closetbiker

I put down that I don't know.

Hands are occupied less, but there still is some looking and searching to turn the cell on or off as well as dialing. Those buttons are so small, you can't help but look away from the road to search the keyboard to make the cell do what you want it to.

khuon

In aviation, we're also taught how to prioritise and multitask. I think this is something that has been rarely addressed in driver training. I mean do they teach even the basics of scanning techniques? The rule of thumb is, "aviate, navigate, communicate... in that order." The problem I have with all these laws that ban things is that they don't rightly address the problem. First I think they should enforce more strictly and set stiffer penalties for inattentive driving whether it be because of talking on a mobile phone or eating a hamburger. Then they should also teach drivers how to handle situational risk assessment, multitasking and prioritisation. These are all very fundamental basics pilots go through.

I'm reposting this from something I posted in a past thread...

fallstorm

It depends on the driver's level of training and experience. For example, I believe the use of cell phones in any way should be banned for typical drivers. However, police officers and other officials are trained to do multiple things at once -- drive safely, watch out for offenders, watch for vehicles or people on the watch list, talk on the radio, etc. Often effective police do two or more of these things at once.

Is hands-free safer than hands-on? No, I think it's more dangerous. I think it gives the driver a false sense of security. It's the conversation, not the act of holding a phone, that's the danger here.

twahl

There have been much-publicized studies saying that hands free doesn't make you safe. True. But safer? Of course. I hate to be nasty to those that think otherwise, but it's a no-brainer. Not having to hold a phone to your head HAS to be more safe than holding a phone to your head. Is it perfect? Of course not. Is it as safe as not talking on the phone at all? Of course not. Is it as dangerous as talking to someone in the passenger seat? I think it's safer.

Personally if I have to take a call while driving, I prefer to put the phone on speakerphone option and clip it to my visor. Having said all that, I'll admit to having talked to my wife riding the bike using the earpiece. Did about 20 miles that way one night...late, no traffic, she was out of town so it was the only way I'd get to talk to her.

catatonic

no, all that happens is the person often ends up fidgeting with the cord, or still holding the stupid thing....plus it's far more complicated to shove a tiny plastic object in your ear and make it stay, then answer the phone, and put it back in your pocket, than it is to just answer it and get it over with.

Really, IMO handsfree sets were made explictitly to cater to the "sharper image" shoppers...who often just go for the latest cool gadget regardless of practicality. There's nothing wrong with being a gadget freak...but keep in mind that gadget doesn't always equal practical

khuon

IMHO, I do not consider an earpiece to be "handsfree". I'm using a speakerphone system in my vehicle. My phone has Bluetooth capability and just pairs with it. I can also voice-dial, voice-answer and voice-reject via the speakerphone.

forum*rider

I say no.

Handsfree just means that the driver is going to crash into you with two hands on the wheel instead of one.

blue_neon

1. Concentration IS improved. No matter how you look at it, it is SAFER not to be holding a phone that it is to be holding it. You now have two hands to use, not one.

2. It does depend on the driver, some are more skilled then others and can do multiple tasks.

3. I agree that you would concentrate more when you are speaking to a passenger, as opposed to talking on a phone where you HAVE to speak and concentrate. Although Hands-Free helps improve conentration levals, so you dont have to worry about holding the phone, or fumbling around with it.

3. To answer a call you press the 'answer button'. You talk and then you end the call with another press of the button. Thats not life threating. It just the same as pressing buttons on the radio.

Even though talking on the phone is still distracting, you have to admit that Hands Free features make it easier and safer to use then holding a phone.

nathank

nope. cell phones without hands-free are banned, but hands-free is "a-ok".

QUITE often on the autobahn a car passes me at 200km/h and then later i pass him and he later comes zooming by... "oh, he's on the hands-free phone" - unable to pay attention enough to maintain speed. (note: typically 40-60-something mercedes drivers)

i agree with most here that hands-free is definitely much safer than normal cell phone. beyond that it depends on the user, where the typical user is NOT able to safely to both. as to the comparision with an in-car conversation, the difference is the passenger sees that the drivers has to deal with driving and waits (or reminds the driver) until the situation where concentration is required is over... on a business call or whatever, i imagine the salesman NOT telling the customer every 30 seconds "hold one i gotta concentrate on driving"...

IF people would THINK and pay attention, hands-free cell-phones can be ok. but in practice they're still pretty unsafe as many people concentrate on talking over driving or even worse with the intention of "distracting them from a boring drive in traffic"

lilHinault

Handsfree phones are weird enough when people use them just walking, you see these people apparently suffering badly from full-blown schiziphrenia, ranting and raving and talking loudly to no one, then you realize their on their handsfree phone.

blue_neon

Yes! I saw that the other day at a shopping center. I was waiting out side a shop and saw this women sitting by herself on a bench. It appeared she was talking to herself, as she kept changing her facial expressions, and moving her head around. She also kept looking right at the ground and I suspected that 80% of people would have though she was mentally ill. Although it turned out she was on hands-free, when I saw a black cord that was nicely disguisted by her hair and clothes going into her ear. Certainly hands free's were designed when your hands wern't 'free', so probably not for use when you were too lazy to pick up a phone.

khuon

It's all about training. Communicating while in the process of operating a vehicle or a piece of machinery is a skill that needs to be developed. Most people talking on the phone do not have this skill. Do you think the guy left-seat in the cockpit of the 777 is gesturing wildly and yelling into his mic as he's making for the numbers on short final? Do you think the guy on SEAL team 5 engaged in a CQB action isn't constantly aware of what's going on around him while at the same time talking to his teammates so they coordinate their fields of fire? What makes these guys different? They've received proper training. The subject of the conversation is contextually related to the situation at hand. Even in general aviation, you're taught how to act on the radio. You're taught how to form your sentences and phrase things in a manner which can be easily deciphered during a high-stress situation. Information is tokenised and related in a format that provides for proper context-flow. There is even built-in verbal error correction procedures to minimise one party mishearing or misunderstanding the other.

Now normal day-to-day conversation isn't going to be as structured or formal. However, nothing in life is always structured or formal and this goes for driving too. In general, people are bad at context switching and need to be trained to handle it. If it's not the mobile phone that can cause a person to context switch then it's the baby in the backseat or something on the radio. Driver training is really poor in preparing the driver for dealing with a multitasked environment. I posted on this a few months ago in a previous thread.

pseudobrit

I have a handsfree set and I lost it for awhile. I can say with absolute certainty that I am a crap driver when I'm holding a cell phone. The difference is extreme. I am fine with the handsfree kit.

I don't gesticulate when on the phone; I do when speaking to someone directly.

I think the order of concentration for me is: no music > music > handsfree > passenger > cellphone in hand

That's me, though. I see plenty of dip****s that shouldn't be allowed on the road without their hands glued to the steering wheel and an AWACS above giving them warnings.