The old cellphone driving ban
Once again there is a call for a ban on cellphone use while driving, this time on the basis that motorists attempting a road obstacle course while talking on a phone were found to be more impaired than those at the legal alcohol limit.
Now I don’t dispute the research done by Dr Susan Krumdieck, or the proposition that cellphone use in cars does make a driver somewhat more distracted.
But I do dispute that this makes a case for banning all cellphone use.
Look if I was about to do an obstacle course in my car, I’d not want to be on the phone also. But an obstacle course is an extreme example of what you face on a road.
There are times when I will speak on my phone in the car. If caught in very slow moving traffic, or say on a motorway with little other traffic etc. But there are often times when I won’t, as conditions get too challenging. If it is raining, and especially if visibility is impaired, then I’ll make the judgement call that it is unsafe to be distracted and will ask people to call back later, or not answer.
And this is my problem with any sort of ban – it judges all motorists as being unable to take a sensible approach to risk management. And motorists do this many times a day. You speed up and slow down in response to the conditions all the time.
August 11th, 2006 at 8:03 am
I thnk they should be banned. I have seen motorists going around a roundabout and weaving in traffic while talking on their phones. They can’t be paying full attention to the road. I used to work for myself with home phone diverted to cell phone. It would go off while I was driving. I had to answer it or miss work. So I picked it up said I was driving and to hang on for a few seconds. Then I pulled to the side and spoke. That was before hands-free operation was available. Of course in line with Murphy’s law it always seemed to ring just as I was pulling away from traffic lights or changing lanes in heavy traffic.
August 11th, 2006 at 8:14 am
I recently was at the crossing of Symonds St and Alfred, in Auckland, at the University. Just about to cross, with the little green man flashing, and a woman with her cellphone clamped to her ear sailed through the red light. Not the first time I’ve seent that sort of incident either. I don’t kow if current laws on careless driving are enough to deal with this or not.
August 11th, 2006 at 8:14 am
Rereading your comments I see you claim the ability to decide when using the phone is safe and when it isn’t. That doesn’t wash with traffic authorities any more than motorists deciding when it is safe to exceed a speed limit.
I do sympathise with tradesmen like me who can’t afford to lose work by not answering the phone. Customers will soon find someone else who will answer the phone.
I did at one time wonder if Telecom could help out by having a standard recorded message which said to the effect ” Please hold on and your party will answer you shortly” or something similar perhaps the message could be activated by just pressing say 00.
August 11th, 2006 at 8:40 am
Can you see the outcry if a high rise construction worker was trying to manoeuvre a beam into place with one hand, cellphone in the other and an accident happened.
Hell would freeze over before anyone could find justification for his actions ! OSH or someone would close the company down.
Why is this different, just because someone is in control of a car !
Bollocks to the freedom of rights crowd – driving is a privilege, and should be done so with safe practice at all times.
August 11th, 2006 at 8:44 am
Its kind of a NZ thing to not let people decide for themselves. The thing is, they could ban cellphone use while driving – but why stop there? What about eating, smoking, etc while driving? Its kind of like making people where helmets on bicycles – when this was brought in during the early 90’s there were figures showing that the chances of a serious head injury on a bicycle were very small, but even so the legislation was brought in largely unchallenged. And I expect the same will happen in this case. Common sense will not prevail, because as far as NZ Governments are concerned the people don’t have any.
August 11th, 2006 at 8:46 am
I have to say that I agree with banning cell phones while driving.
How different is this to seatbelts? Is it OK not to wear a seatbelt when the driving conditions are OK? When you are stuck in a traffic jam?
August 11th, 2006 at 8:48 am
I’ve actually heard research which says that it is just as dangerious to listen to the radio as to talking on a cell phone (handsfree or not)…
I don’t knw how true that is.
August 11th, 2006 at 9:07 am
David, for me it’s simple. If you are concentrating on a call your focus is not 100% on the road. That all important phone call could mean you hit the kid running out onto the road.
August 11th, 2006 at 9:27 am
Quite simple if you need to use a phone buy a hands free kit, otherwise it is too dangerous to use.
Persoanl responsibility chaps, how are you going to feel if a 5 year old runs out in front of you and, as you do not have both hands on the wheel, you splat him/her.
August 11th, 2006 at 9:33 am
If you have kids in the car you are not 100% focusing on the road also.
Once you have banned drivers from eating food, smoking, listening to music, tuning the radio, talking to passengers, listening to passengers, in fact having passengers – then you can ban cellphones!
August 11th, 2006 at 9:38 am
Kiwigirl – what would you say is more dangerous – a driver talking on his cellphone in beautiful sunny weather on a straight road or a girl giving a hand job to a boy while he drives in the pouring rain?
August 11th, 2006 at 9:43 am
I’d like to see handheld cellphone use when driving banned. You’ve got to have your wits about you when driving. As much as one may think they are a superior driver and therefore the exception, you have to make allowances for the unexpected. Driving on the streets is perilous enough with adding to the equation.
I also feel that too many people are a slave to their cellphone these days.
August 11th, 2006 at 9:44 am
How different is this to seatbelts?
Very different. If you choose not to wear a seatbelt you are putting your own life at increased risk, but it is your right to be an idiot. Whereas if you use a cellphone while driving, you are endangering other people’s lives which you have no right to do.
August 11th, 2006 at 9:51 am
Well both would be safer than a blow job
August 11th, 2006 at 9:56 am
Driving on the roads is perilous enough without adding cellphones to the equation. No matter how superior a driver one thinks one is, we have to be aware of the unexpected.
I’m kinda anti cellphone myself although I have one. People seem to be a slave to their cellphones.
August 11th, 2006 at 10:28 am
I don’t think using phones should be banned. But if you have an accident and it can be proved you were using your cellphone, that should weigh heavily towards it being your fault. Same comment for any kind of distraction, including radios, stereos, blowjobs, eating, settling kids down, shaving, smoking, arguing with your girlfriend, being drunk, angry, stoned, gawking at sights/hotties etc.
Of course that kind of thing is hard to prove, in which case the even better recourse of ‘who was not following the road rules’ becomes the only guide. And it’s still the most important guide by far. Usually it’s the person who was distracted, and it’s actually the behaviour we want to punish – not following the road rules is an observable fact, where ‘being distracted’ is quite subjective. Does it make any sense to bust the guy who was talking on his cellphone when an old lady with a bit too much on her mind does a U-turn straight into him? I don’t reckon.
Last time I got rear-ended, I could see quite clearly in my rear vision mirror that the guy was not watching the road – he was looking off to the side. But that was not the ‘crime’ – the ‘crime’ was rear ending me. Distraction was probably the cause, but I really think the law should focus on crimes rather than causes of crimes.
There are exceptions to that statement – extreme drunkeness is so closely related to distraction, and so easily proved, that the crime actually begins with the person getting into the drivers seat at all.
August 11th, 2006 at 10:32 am
cool, while you’re at it ban the consumption of an ice cream on a hot day and no more meat pies when driving if lunch is taken on the run.
August 11th, 2006 at 11:38 am
I fixed the problem 2 years ago I threw the cell phone away Now Im not controlled by the bloody thing We have become slaves to phones Think about how people have no problem interupting a conversation with other people in front of them to answer a bloody cell phone.Hello.They control life if you allow it.On planes Ive seen people ringing just before the plane takes off and just after it ladns when they tell you when you can use the bloody things. And guess what. They are telling the person they call that they are either……..wait for it taking off or landing Duh!!!!! Take back control over your lives folks.
August 11th, 2006 at 3:02 pm
Whats next from the nanny state? stopping me drinking two bottles of whisky before I drive?
August 11th, 2006 at 3:37 pm
hand held cell phones while driving? – im against it. Ive seen too many bozos doing dumb ass things in their cars while talking on the thing.
Thats the problem with personal responsibility. While im all for it, too many people seem to not put their brains in gear, and consider the whole cause and effect thing before doing something.
But as for hands free, I think theres nothing wrong with it. It means that your hands are free to do the driving and the phone call is at a simillar level to talking to a passenger.
It also seems to be the avenue that would keep the majority of people happy – from both sides of the argument.
ps: correct me if im wrong, but isnt getting a blow job while driving already illegal?
Would be a great court case if it is in fact legal, but just frowned upon by the police.
August 11th, 2006 at 3:44 pm
“ps: correct me if im wrong, but isnt getting a blow job while driving already illegal?
Would be a great court case if it is in fact legal, but just frowned upon by the police.”
Maybe you could get a blowjob while giving evidence on the stand? It could be a good way to liven up a dull court appearance.
August 11th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
Razork,have you also suffered mince-pie lava in the groin while on the motorway? I share your pain.They should also ban bees and wasps,frenzied cats breaking out of cardboard boxes, and sun-strike.As for banning cell-phones?As has already been observed,many people are slaves to the damm things.I have visions of drivers ducking down to dashboard level to avoid being seen or wearing balaclavas to hide the phone.Why stop there?Ban smoking in cars…yeah,that would be effective too.
August 11th, 2006 at 4:50 pm
OUr company is one of many that already has a ban on cellphone use whilst driving – and that includes hands-free ones as well.
I really don’t see a problem with banning it. The personal responsibility argument only goes so far – people driving also have a responsibility to those that they are sharing the road with.
August 11th, 2006 at 4:56 pm
OUr company is one of many that already has a ban on cellphone use whilst driving – and that includes hands-free ones as well.
I really don’t see a problem with banning it. The personal responsibility argument only goes so far – people driving also have a responsibility to those that they are sharing the road with.
August 11th, 2006 at 6:25 pm
There in NO excuse or need to use a cellphone while driving. It’s dangerous. Not rocket science, you know.
Just pull over if you need to use it.
Anyone who tries to think that they can drive and use cellphone at the same time safely is probably just another one of those arrogant drivers who think they are more skillful and better than everyone else on the road. They are actually selfish as they are dicing with other people’s lives.
STick your bloody cellphones where the sun doesn’t shine!
August 11th, 2006 at 6:35 pm
Quick, ban radios (especially those with talkback) in case drivers get distracted. Oh, while we’re at it, lets ban passengers in cars as well just in case the drivers talk to them.
August 11th, 2006 at 6:36 pm
Quick, ban radios (especially those with talkback) in case drivers get distracted. Oh, while we’re at it, lets ban passengers in cars as well just in case the drivers talk to them.
August 11th, 2006 at 7:00 pm
AH – your point is valid. However, distraction with a cellphone is considerably more than conversing with a fellow passenger or passively listening to a radio.
For a start, you have one hand off the wheel and, in the case of texting, your eyes off the road.
Effectively, this behaviour is already banned. It’s called not driving with due care and attention. But for the significant minority of completely idiotic drivers that plague our roads, this needs to be explained over and over and over again.
August 11th, 2006 at 7:08 pm
A little dull, I know – opinions are much more fun – but there is some empical research around on this.
http://www.newscientisttech.com/channel/tech/dn7658.html
Just in case the html doesn’t work, here’s the URL in full, which you will have to copy and paste.
http://www.newscientisttech.com/channel/tech/dn7658.html
People talking on cell phones are 4 times more likely to crash.
This result has been replicated elsewhere – I’m sure there are plenty more examples available through a google search.
I can’t find the relevant articles on-line, I’m sorry, but the neurological explanation seems to be something to do with diverting attention to the conversation. Interestingly, even people walking down the street while talking on their phones are much more likely to walk past friends, bump into other people, and generally behave as if their attention is completely elsewhere, which of course it is.
Conversations with passengers don’t seem to hold the same dangers. A passenger is (by definition – d’oh) in the car with the driver, and seeing the same road conditions, and so is much more inclined to stop talking when there is a tricky driving situation.
August 11th, 2006 at 8:44 pm
Ducky, texting whilst driving is a very different beast from talking on a handsfree kit. In theory I would be happy to ban texting while driving, although I guess it would be OK at the traffic lights, and OK when stuck in a traffic jam etc etc. In other words – judgement. Hell, if I don’t believe the other people are on the road are smart enough to work out when a cell phone will detract from their driving, why do I trust them to drive at 100km/h at someone else driving at 100km/h with about 2 foot separating them?
August 11th, 2006 at 10:42 pm
August,you reinforce my feeling that everyone should be banned from the road except for you and me.Between us,I,m sure we could handle the conditions.Jesus joy,what pleasure would that be?
August 12th, 2006 at 10:04 am
Mara. Most Kiwis should never have obtained a licence to drive in the first place. The general standard of driving in this country is horrific.
August 12th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
It’s already banned in many countries including UK and I think that’s a good thing although I admit I have occasionally been guilty. I’m aware it’s dangerous and try to pullover if I get a call and haven’t got the handsfree sorted. If you’re a business person get a car-kit handsfree and you’re sorted. In the UK you can even get busted for drinking or eating an apple, think this is taking it too far.
August 14th, 2006 at 9:16 am
Just from observation. The idiots on the road who are (a) either not keeping pace with traffic (b) weaving across lanes (c) randomly doing strange things with their arms are either from Ponsonby or yacking on their cellphones or both.
How many times have you seen other drivers typing a txt message occasionally glancing up at the road?
It’s sheer idiocy releasing those type of mongrels onto the road with their mobile phones. They are not only a danger to themselves but to the general public. Idiots one and all.
August 16th, 2006 at 3:13 pm
So holding a device and talking into it and receiving voice back is dangerous?
Yes?
Ok, so we also need to ban RT’s (radio telephones). If it really is dangerous then all those truckies, police, ambulance officers etc etc will have to pull over to make and receive calls.
Ban this, ban that. I bet you all voted for ‘nanny state’ Labour.