When is there going to be a law banning talking on cell phones and driving? At the very least, drivers should have to talk hands free. Every day...I get on the freeway and every other driver is on a cell phone. Their almost always distracted and their driving shows that distraction in multiple ways...such as slow driving(in the fast lane many times), slow to respond to other events in traffic, leaning to one side holding the phone with one hand to their ear(like the hunchback of Notre Dame), and just all around bonehead decision-making which not only is gambling with their life but everyone else's around them. I would easily turn back the clock to a time before cell phones when drivers were not so f-ing distracted. As bad as the freeways are, the regular roads are that much worse. I'm just sick of it and I'm sick of the road rage it's causing me. It's like morning rush hour and many people are on cell phones on their commute to work. Who the f*ck do you have to talk to at 7:30 am in the morning that is so damn important? When people point their finger at road rage as a problem, then they should be pointing their fingers at cell phone drivers. How long is this problem going to continue to go unfestered? How many more people have to die because some driver was distracted because he was more engrossed with talking on a freaking cell phone than driving his car properly? It's sad how...we as a society...seem to have accepted this practice as the norm. I will never accept it. Two hands on the wheel is the only way to go in my book...not fiddling with some cell phone with one hand while half-ass paying attention to the road. I much prefer the old days of someone having to pull over and use a pay phone. At least the privilege of portable communications wasn't being abused daily.
Surfguy, I'm with you 100%. IMHO, with all of the good and convenience that cellphones have provided, the danger that comes along with their use supercedes it by 110%.
It's one thing if you're stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, but to drive 80 mph on the freeway while talking on a cell phone is reckless and irresponsible.
i used to do this going down the interstate through mountains. Now i rarely talk on the cellphone while driving.
Of course! How else am I supposed to hold my beer and change the DVD? no, you can use hands free phones... silly
Preach on, my fellow Rush fan! I see this all the time. Who the hell are you talking to at 6:30 in the effin' morning???? Same thing when people leave the office. Do you really have to call someone and tell them that you're leaving work now? Is it really that important? I submit to you that 99% of people who blather away on their cell phones all day are probably making unnecessary calls to their friends (who are also on cellphones) just so people will see them and think they're important.
This has gotten so bad that the wife and I play a game and try to guess if someone driving irratically is on a cell phone or eating fast food.
For what it's worth, I was guilty of the cell phone freeway driving yesterday afternoon. I had a conference call from 2-3P and a dentist appt at 3PM. Given that I had to drive from North Austin all the way to 38th and Lamar, I finished the call on my cell while on the way to the office. Pretty irresponsible, I know.
On avg, I do it once every 2 weeks. It's pretty stupid, and I hate it when I see people who drive like the elderly because they're on the phone. The worst are people who still take the same risks (cutting people off, running yellow before crossing the line, speeding while passing right) and think everything's business as usual. I'd hate to witness them drunk.
On the flipside, I have a friend who likes to call me sometimes when he's driving so he can have some entertainment during his commute. I'm not here to be someone's in-cabin entertainment. Just because he doesn't have anything better to do doesn't mean I don't.
If we could just install a sharp metal spike right in the middle of every steering wheel, everyone would drive much safer. Plus it'd cut back on the population and open up more beachfront property for the rest of us..
It should be the law in all the states. Just go hands free if you have to make a call, it's not that hard once you get the gear.
Mythbuster's had an episode on this once. They determined that you are JUST as impaired talking on the phone as you are while legally drunk. They concluded the cognitive distraction of talking on the phone is the problem. They didn't specifically test handsfree but IMO you are JUST as impaired with handsfree as with not. Your reaction time is impaired either way.
