MSNBC article says all cell phone talking and driving is dangerous [Telecom]

MSNBC article says all cell phone talking and driving is dangerous [Telecom]
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MSNBC article says all cell phone talking and driving is dangerous [Telecom] hancock4 06-26-2008
Posted by on June 26, 2008, 9:57 pm
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MSNBC reported:

some research shows that hands-free calls are just as distracting as
calls made on a handheld phone.

"The evidence is mounting that the conversation itself is the risk,
not holding the phone", says Russ Rader of the Insurance Institute for
Highway Safety. "The research shows the risk of having an accident is
about four times higher for drivers using cell phones, whether it’s
handheld or hands-free."

I think we’ve all see someone weaving in their lane while on a cell
phone. That’s because a driver is not paying full attention to the
road.

"Some degree of awareness changes when you’re talking on the phone and
driving, and I think we all know this", says Marcel Just, a researcher
at Carnegie Mellon University. "Just listening to someone talk on the
phone while you are driving is going to reduce the quality of your
driving performance", he says.

Distraction equals danger University of Utah psychology professor
David Strayer has studied driver distraction for years. He says
talking on the phone causes what’s called "inattention blindness". The
driver looks but does not always see things that are there, such as
pedestrians, stop signs, traffic signals, or other vehicles.

For full article please see:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25379642/


Posted by Sam Spade on June 27, 2008, 5:36 pm
hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
> MSNBC reported:
>
> some research shows that hands-free calls are just as distracting as
> calls made on a handheld phone.
>
> "The evidence is mounting that the conversation itself is the risk,
> not holding the phone", says Russ Rader of the Insurance Institute for
> Highway Safety. "The research shows the risk of having an accident is
> about four times higher for drivers using cell phones, whether it’s
> handheld or hands-free."
>
> I think we’ve all see someone weaving in their lane while on a cell
> phone. That’s because a driver is not paying full attention to the
> road.
>
> "Some degree of awareness changes when you’re talking on the phone and
> driving, and I think we all know this", says Marcel Just, a researcher
> at Carnegie Mellon University. "Just listening to someone talk on the
> phone while you are driving is going to reduce the quality of your
> driving performance", he says.
>
> Distraction equals danger University of Utah psychology professor
> David Strayer has studied driver distraction for years. He says
> talking on the phone causes what’s called "inattention blindness". The
> driver looks but does not always see things that are there, such as
> pedestrians, stop signs, traffic signals, or other vehicles.
>
> For full article please see:
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25379642/
>

This is being discussed a lot in California these days because it
becomes illegal July 1 to use a hand-held unit while driving a car.

The Southern California Auto Club has a consulting expert who asserts
that a hands-free unit is about as hazardous because of attention diversion.

I think a lot depends upon the training and discipline of the driver.
Cops talk on radios and drive all the time. Pilots do it in
airplanes...and so forth.

I think for a person with the training and presence of mind a hand-free
unit is safer than holding a unit to the ear (that was never designed
propergly to be held to the ear in the first place.)

Now, for the 90% of drivers who can't handle the hands-free without
being diverted I submit that this same class of drivers has been
diverted by talk radio for many years.


Posted by Steven Lichter on June 28, 2008, 8:56 am
Sam Spade wrote:
> hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>> MSNBC reported:
>>
>> some research shows that hands-free calls are just as distracting as
>> calls made on a handheld phone.
>>
>> "The evidence is mounting that the conversation itself is the risk,
>> not holding the phone", says Russ Rader of the Insurance Institute for
>> Highway Safety. "The research shows the risk of having an accident is
>> about four times higher for drivers using cell phones, whether it’s
>> handheld or hands-free."

[Moderator Snip]

>>
>> For full article please see:
>> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25379642/
>>
>
> This is being discussed a lot in California these days because it
> becomes illegal July 1 to use a hand-held unit while driving a car.
>
> The Southern California Auto Club has a consulting expert who asserts
> that a hands-free unit is about as hazardous because of attention
> diversion.

[Moderator Snip]

I agree, using a phone in any manor while driving is dangerous. Last
year I was hit in the rear on my truck and the person was on the phone
and he was using blue tooth: no difference. I remember years ago
using both Ham radio and CB in a car and I guess I either got good
enough not to have an accident or just very lucky. Also I had been a
Reserve Sheriff and was alway on the radio, again with no problem. I
remember that during the training we got a lot of training behind the
wheel.


***** Moderator's Note *****

I've said before that Hams should not be included with cell users in
such bans: their conversations rarely concern anything important
enough to distract them from driving. Hams also use push-to-talk
radios that only go one way at a time: listen or talk, not both. It's
a different paradyme.

A law-enforcement officer using a radio in a car is also in a
different paradyme: (s)he is communicating information _about_
driving, i.e., about location, route, etc., and is trained to do so.

Cellphone are a distraction because the conversations are

A. Almost never about the task at hand, i.e., driving.
B. Bi-directional, and thus an added distraction since the
users are listening even while talking.
C. About things they consider more important than driving.

Bill Horne
Temporary Moderator

(Please put [Telecom] at the end of your subject line,
or I may never see your post! Thanks!)


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