PSA: please please don't TXT and drive

[mattkime]

[Paul F.]

RAMd®d wrote:
Not hard to figure out in this thread who drives while texting.

Odd.

I didn't think anybody here actually texted while driving.

So he wasn't preaching to the choir?

That's disappointing.

We didn't think anyone never used their turn signals, either... but now we know JDC is "that guy" that we all want to see T-boned by a big truck for not signaling (and yet, miraculously walk away uninjured).

So, not seeing the big deal about THIS thread compared to others.

[mattkime]

http://crashnotaccident.com/

[silvarios]

mattkime wrote:

I'm not sure that's true passengers, radio, etc, and the like have proven dangerous especially for newer drivers. When we realize many people don't travel with fellow adults, but just as often with children. Yeah, it's harrowing. Never mind eating while driving, or even the simple act of taking a drink.

So, talking is fine with a passenger, but not to your phone, and it's actually safer to physically look at your phone and send text messages? How can that be right at all?

[freeradical]

I agree that hands free with cell phones does not make any difference. These "hands free laws" were created to make the public think that something important was being done, but it's all bs. Carrying on a conversation with somebody on the phone is far more mentally demanding than say listening to music. The phone call requires active mental participation, while listening to music is a passive activity. A cell phone call is also not the same thing as talking to someone in a car. When you're talking to someone in your car, you can mentally tune them out when you need to pay more attention to your driving to carry out a maneuver etc. People get it and understand this. The person on the other end of the cell call has no idea as to what your current driving scenario is, and they keep yapping away.

[silvarios]

N-OS X-tasy! wrote:
[quote=$tevie]
At the end of the day, it is a good idea to not text and drive. What a funny topic to have become controversial.

It's a good idea at the beginning of the day, too.
True, true.

[silvarios]

freeradical wrote:
I agree that hands free with cell phones does not make any difference. These "hands free laws" were created to make the public think that something important was being done, but it's all bs. Carrying on a conversation with somebody on the phone is far more mentally demanding than say listening to music. The phone call requires active mental participation, while listening to music is a passive activity. A cell phone call is also not the same thing as talking to someone in a car. When you're talking to someone in your car, you can mentally tune them out when you need to pay more attention to your driving to carry out a maneuver etc. People get it and understand this. The person on the other end of the cell call has no idea as to what your current driving scenario is, and they keep yapping away.

That ad says typing with hands is safer than hands free. Do you agree there as well?

[hal]

freeradical wrote:
I agree that hands free with cell phones does not make any difference. These "hands free laws" were created to make the public think that something important was being done, but it's all bs. Carrying on a conversation with somebody on the phone is far more mentally demanding than say listening to music. The phone call requires active mental participation, while listening to music is a passive activity. A cell phone call is also not the same thing as talking to someone in a car. When you're talking to someone in your car, you can mentally tune them out when you need to pay more attention to your driving to carry out a maneuver etc. People get it and understand this. The person on the other end of the cell call has no idea as to what your current driving scenario is, and they keep yapping away.

I call BS on this whole post - just yesterday I had to do some emergency driving while on the phone with my sister. In a split second I had to slam on the brakes and switch lanes instantly (being sure that it was safe to do so) while driving on the freeway. I did so as my sister was yapping away. After I recovered, I told her I was too shaky to continue talking and ended the call.

I don't know where you got your info, but MY brain, upon seeing an emergency put 100% of itself on the task of safely getting through the danger and the yapping in my ear just disappeared (or better stated - became irrelevant).

[JoeH]

hal wrote:
[quote=freeradical]
I agree that hands free with cell phones does not make any difference. These "hands free laws" were created to make the public think that something important was being done, but it's all bs. Carrying on a conversation with somebody on the phone is far more mentally demanding than say listening to music. The phone call requires active mental participation, while listening to music is a passive activity. A cell phone call is also not the same thing as talking to someone in a car. When you're talking to someone in your car, you can mentally tune them out when you need to pay more attention to your driving to carry out a maneuver etc. People get it and understand this. The person on the other end of the cell call has no idea as to what your current driving scenario is, and they keep yapping away.

I call BS on this whole post - just yesterday I had to do some emergency driving while on the phone with my sister. In a split second I had to slam on the brakes and switch lanes instantly (being sure that it was safe to do so) while driving on the freeway. I did so as my sister was yapping away. After I recovered, I told her I was too shaky to continue talking and ended the call.

I don't know where you got your info, but MY brain, upon seeing an emergency put 100% of itself on the task of safely getting through the danger and the yapping in my ear just disappeared (or better stated - became irrelevant).
I call BS on your anecdote. Just because you happened to notice the situation in time to react and not get in a crash, you have used that to argue that an ad based on years of research is BS. Another way of looking at it is that if you had not been "yapping" on the phone with your sister, you might have seen the situation coming in enough time to react in a non-emergency manner and avoided the accident entirely. Or another possible outcome would have been that while talking you failed to notice it in time at all, and became part of that statistic - 26% of crashes involved cell phone use.

[silvarios]

The ad also states that typing on your phone is safer than hands free use. Please tell me how this is possible. It makes no sense.