Is It Time to Ban Cell Phone Use in Cars Nationally, or am I just being Cranky?
I've been nearly picked off 3 times by young women talking on cell phones while driving. The latest was in last week's snow. As I'm about to pull out, I spot this small foreign car traveling at full speed. I slammed on the brakes, and watched as she tried to negotiate the turn into the shopping center I was pulling out of. She looked about 12, cell phone glued to the ear, and driving like an idiot in 3 inches of snow. She missed me by about a foot, but skidded a good 300 to 400 feet pulling double donuts. She regained control and drove back and in, never letting go of the cell phone for a minute. Another rear-ended me at the lights because she was on the cell. Had her license for 2 weeks. Am I missing something here? Or should we not be on phones while driving? My phone is shut off as soon as I get behind the wheel.
-capnlucerne
We thought this was a great question, Capnlucerne, and we to hear what folks have to say. We also thought we'd add this little poll. Tell us what you think! -- The Car Talk Lackeys
Having a law on the books and getting people to actually function properly are vastly different. Technicaly there is already a law "careless driving" that is a catch-all and should be used by law enforcement more often.
..So which task is easier to result in safer driving ? Getting law enforment to nab more people for distracted "careless" driving, or getting the public to realize just how important this is ?
..wow, ..big issue here and I agree with you, something needs done.
I agree in priciple, however I am a physician, and when I am on call must answer questions stat about life and death situations while I a driving a vehicle. When my pager goes off, the patient in the ICU cannot wait for me to find the next exit on the interstate and find a safe parking place to respond. I do use a hands free system in the car. The medical system has come to EXPECT physicians to respond on a stat basis. To do otherwise would not only be unfair and dangerous to patients, it would lead to lawsuits and require a total restructuring of the medical system and hiring more doctors, all in a climate of cutting medical costs and dwindling numbers of doctors due to insurance company greed. Restricting my cell phone use while driving would be a disaster.
Let your messages go to voice-mail and check every half hour. Better to do that than cause death or injury because you are distracted by your use of the phone.
You gotta be kidding me, If it was your child in the ER bleeding to death would you want tobe told the doctor has to wait a half hour to call in ! This law is absurb!
I believe nearly all states exempt on-duty emergency responders from these types of regulations. Physicians responding to emergent situations could reasonably be added to that population.
The state laws that I am most familiar with (Arizona and Tennessee), do not exempt emergency responders from prima facie traffic regulations entirely. The way the laws are written in those states, emergency responders are subject to all traffic regulations but may exceed the posted speed limit or proceed through a red light only if it can be done safely and due care is exercised. Additionally, the vehicle must be a state registered emergency vehicle equipped with a siren, gong or whistle in addition to a forward facing red light. When responding to an emergency call, the equipment must be in operation. There have been cases where emergency responders were found liable due to failure to exercise due care in the operation of their vehicle.
As for the child bleeding to death in the ER, that's nothing but a legal red herring. You might save one life, but that does not legally justify endangering other road users. Frankly I don't care whether someone is a Doctor, EMT, whatever...if you want to drive, don't expect me to feel that you deserve any special treatment. I've had Doctors pull that excuse all the time at the courthouse. I don't care if you're on call or whatever-local court rules prohibit cell phone usage in certain areas of the courthouse and you're no different. Application of cell phone usage laws must be equal and it is becoming increasingly clear that cell phones are a major problem.
The physician's response is more an indictment of the US health care "system" than a cogent defense of cell phones. If the doc believes that in some clinical situation a patient's life hangs on someone's ability to get in touch with a particular physician at that very instant, God help us all! Because in that case the medical "system" surely can't.
Sorry, doc but how was this handled before cell phones? Surely a system was in place other than letting patients die due to lack of a proper backup system for a doctor who is not able to immediately respond. I apologize if I sound too sarcastic, but I think we all need to realize that every new piece of technology has positive and negative features. Some drivers are doing 80 or more mph on highways and even if you're not one of them, you need to give your full attention to driving in case one of the zanys who is in so much more of a hurry than everyone else pulls a stupid and dangerous move near you. susanvz
I am also a physician. In my state, there are shoulders on the highways and I find that if I pull off and turn on my flashers, most passing cars do not hit me and I don't hit someone else while I am otherwise mentally involved with a patient care decision.
If you are in your car, life and death in the hospital won't wait for you anyway, so look to the common good and DON'T DRIVE DRUNK! Take the call, but then pull off the road if you need to concentrate.
If my child is bleeding to death in the ER and the only response the hospital can provide is to phone a physician who is on the road somewhere, it's my own fault for taking my child to this substandard hospital!
Driving and talking on a telephone are both tasks that are unnatural to humans (or any other animal). We can learn how to perform these tasks and do them well, but they will never be "instinctive". Unlike talking to someone in person, talking on the phone omits the non-verbal aspects of communication. When talking in person, we can take verbal shortcuts, make silent responses and silent requests.
In my opinion, the idea that human beings can "multi-task" is a fiction. When we have more than one task to perform, we focus on one at a time and alternate our focus to another when we think that one is more important.
A perfect driver (if one exists) would never allow another task to distract her. Safe drivers may get distracted, but they remain focused on driving a high percentage of the time and recognize that the driving task gets first priority no matter what else is happening. A driver talking on a phone is not safe because he is being asked to perform two non-instinctive tasks. The task with the highest priority is ambiguous. Mistakes will be made in one or the other task.
I'm not sure who I'm more worried about, the people driving and walking near this doctor who's driving while on the phone, or the patients the doctor's making decisions about while driving. I don't care how good somebody thinks he is at multitasking, when he's doing two things like this, both of which require full attention, he's not doing a very good job at either one, and other people are at risk.
C'mon, doc, you must have read the research studies which said accident rates are higher while driving on the phone and there is NO difference in accident rates whether the phone is hands free or handheld. You are making more mistakes than you think, which you'd realize if you could get feedback from other people driving near you. Don't you notice boneheads out there driving who are on the phone? I see it all the time.
But I also suggest you examine what you're doing to yourself. You need to delegate more and assign yourself some down time. This notion of being responsible 24/7 burns doctors out and makes them sick and does not to lead to optimal care.
As Tom & Ray's bumper sticker sez: HANG UP AND DRIVE.
It's good for their business to make exemptions to this sort of law. Let's help out the medical profession by not enforcing speed limits too - oh sorry, we already do that!
We kill 41,000 people per year with automobiles in this country. What could possibly be more important than reducing that number by making people pay attention to what they are doing when they are supposed to be in control of thousands of pounds of steel moving at high speed.
Remember the Comic Gallagher's routine about having a supply of suction cup darts that you could throw at cars driven in an A__hole manner; the cops would then stop cars w/ an a--hole sticker stuck on it. I agree that emergency people need cells, but didn't beepers do the same thing? I've seen a lot of close calls-most recently was a triple! Girl working as cart retriever at grocery talking on cell w pal on other side of lot nearly got creamed by cell phone- busy shopper--PRICELESS!
You are right. The problem is inattentiveness not phones. The only solution is to make everyone take a test that determines her ability to multi-task. Those who fail will not be allowed to have kids, in-laws, spouses or music in the car.
I agree with Mr. Green. Another law to enforce rational behavior ... the cell phone situation, especially while driving is a problem. I have come close to being hit more times than I can now count ... all from someone talking on the cell phone while driving, and at the same time putting on makeup, shaving, tuning the radio, seemingly fighting w/someone on the other end of the line, or in general, more involved with the conversation than paying attention. As to the doctor ... why not just pull over when you get a call. If you had a flat you would not drive to the off-ramp (we hope) ... you would pull over to the side & put on your emergency lights (again, we hope). We Americans don't seem to be able to do much thinking for ourselves anymore. So, if we are driving & talking on the cell phone, let's hope it is a call to a advice councilor with the question, "Do you think I should be talking to you now, while I am driving?.
Because I Advocate Not Restricting Freedom In America, I Say No To A Law Banning Them ...
... However, penalties for causing an accident because one was on a cell phone or practicing any other form of driver negligence should be severe. Examples must be made of some of these poor drivers to get the message out. We can't legislate an end to stupidity and the number of laws needed to cover all the stupid things people do while driving would be prohibitive.
Create severe penalties, get the word out, and prosecute to the full extent of the law.
Oh, and if any negligent driver (cell user, hair styler, lip glosser, Whopper and Coke diner, etcetera) causes me to be in a accident, or any memeber of my family, and/or causes any injuries, there will be lawsuits involved.
Because I Advocate Not Restricting Freedom In America, I Say No To A Law Banning Them ...
Would you vote to legalize drunk driving, except if you caused an accident? Would you legalize parking in the middle of the street.
There are all kinds of laws that we need because many people are just stupid. Frankly I would like to see cell phones legal, only when getting directions for your current trip.
I find it interesting that the latest study I have seen indicated that hands free and standard cell phones have about the same increased risk of accidents.
Joseph, The Reason I Say No To A Cell Phone Ban Is Because We Already Have Laws Covering Negligent Driving.
We have parking laws. We have impaired and drunk driving laws. We have careless and negligent driving laws. Those are fine. I agree with you.
It's not that I think that people should use cell phones while operating a vehicle. I think it is stupid and extremely dangerous. Do we need a law against putting stamps in a collector's album while driving? How about giving one's self a pedicure at 70mph on the Interstate?
I just don't think we can pass an individual law for each idiotic type of negligence that a driver can perform. Throw the book at them! Get the tailgaters, too!
I guess what I'm saying is that the laws are there, increase the penalties and enforce them. Come to think of it, I've already said that. Reread my previous comments.
01/05/2009 3:37:42 PM
