July 22, 2009
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Shut Up and Drive
Yesterday there was a report that came out about how the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration withheld information about cell phone safety (er… un-safety as it were) while driving due to the pressure of not angering Congress. The head of this agency was told that if it released the information, the agency could lose tons of its funding from Congress if Congress thought that the agency had crossed the line into lobbying. I honestly don’t see how telling people the dangers of cell phones could be construed as lobbying since there are many of us who realize that cell phones + driving = distracted.
The point about this story that kind of irked me was that people were in an uproar because had this report been allowed to be released earlier, there could have been PSAs and the like to warn against driving will talking on the phone and lives could have been saved. I’m sorry but if you don’t think that your cell phone distracts you while you’re driving, you may be a few fries short of a happy meal. The person speaking on the news cast made the point of PSAs being used to speak against drunk driving. I doubt that before there were PSAs to speak against drunk driving that there were many people that weren’t aware of the dangers of driving while drunk. It’s common sense. Talking on a cell phone while driving is dangerous and that should be common sense as well. It takes away your concentration and it makes you less reactive to the things going on around you. I’m not sure if this report also included texting or not but texting is perhaps even more distracting than talking on a cell phone while driving. Anything that takes your eyes off of the road is just a bad idea.
I bought a car about two years ago and was really excited when it came installed with Bluetooth for hands free driving. It took about 5 minutes to set my cell phone up to sync with my car. All I have to do is dial and then I can put my phone down and talk to whoever is on the line through my car speakers. When my phone rings, I can push a button on my steering wheel and answer the phone once again using the speakers. It’s fantastic. I know a lot of cars are beginning to come out with systems like this. Even without a report like this one coming out, there are many states that have begun to start banning using cell phones without hands free devices. DC, while not a state, has had this law for years. There are others like my home state of Maryland that have begun banning texting while driving.
Do you think Public Service Announcements are necessary to warn drivers against talking on their cell phones? Do you think they make a difference?
Comments (26)
There are lots of stupid people in the world. That’s what makes it necessary.
I pop my phone and speaker and chatter, hands free. ♥
I think it’s right to ban the usage of cell phones while driving, because it’s definitely distracting. But I’m not sure if public service announcements would help. Personally, I tend to ignore those. Or they don’t even get through to me.
I’m not sure… I don’t really think so. But I guess it’s nice that there’s a constant reminder. How I wish we learn how to follow.
I don’t think that the PSA’s will make much of a difference.
I don’t think that PSA’s will make a difference, but it really upsets me that they hid the information to get more funding.
Everyone knows it is dangerous to use the cell phone in driving so no need announcements . i would add even a simple conversation without holding anything takes a part of your vigilance .But it is better than the cell phone, of course.
Love
Michel
I swear it seems like every other car I see is being driven by someone on a cell phone. Therefore I am going to have to say no.
Ah one of my best peeve. Although I think PSA couldn’t hurt, I’m not sure how much it will actually help. People will still probably do it. Setting it to law on the other hand might be the way to go.
A study actually showed that a person who texts while driving has a slower reaction time than a person who is drunk while driving. Given this, it seems that texting while driving is actually worse than drinking and driving.
Studies have shown that talking on the phone while driving is also distracting, and even talking on speaker phone is distracting to the driver or talking to passengers in the car. Basically, doing anything except focusing solely on the road while driving will delay the driver’s reaction time. How much of a delay is acceptable? Well, that’s the debatable part isn’t it?
I don’t think PSA’s could do any harm. I think some people will take note of it and some people won’t, either way it can’t hurt. I can see the point that Congress is trying to make about lobbying, I think they’re afraid it might sway public opinion and put undue pressure on the issue. Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the PSA’s. They’re not fallacious and it doesn’t so much skew public opinion as it does inform people about the facts.
I don’t think anyone pays attention to PSA’s. Who’s going to be paying for these? It has been a law for years in my husband’s home country that you cannot talk on a cell phone while driving unless you have a hands-free device. I definitely think it should be a law in every state.
PSAs will not work! Those of us who have common sense already know the risks of driving while distracted. If you ask me, it should be illegal to drive with children in your backseat-Talk about distracted! Maybe a PSA about driving while under the influence of misbehaved children would be more effective.
My PSA is known as a Personal Stoning Asshole! That is everyone should have wiffle bats in their cars. Follow the people who do dumbass things in their cars and then pummel the frothing crap out of the person who has the cell phone, the little poochie on the steering wheel, is just a jerk on the road and many old people who should not have cars anymore(sorry, they shouldn’t!). Just like spanking children(something else that really needs to come back into vogue)perhaps the best deterrent is a PUBLIC BEATING MESSAGE or PBM to people who are waaaaay out of line..selfish, self absorbed or inconsiderate….yeah, that is a bit more on the anarchy side isn’t it..but sometimes caring about people I believe involves a good thrashing non-verbally that is…plus, I like the wiffle bat company and they could use the business(probably in China already anyways but Xing Lin Xiou needs to bring the bacon home too)
PSAs should not be mandatory. I sometimes talk on the phone while driving but texting is quite dangerous! There are some studies that say even talking on the phone with a hands free set is dangerous… but then so is listening to the radio or talking to a passenger. Each action uses different parts of the brain in different degrees. PSA: Be alert and pay attention! Those other cars are dangerous and there are people in them just like you!
Yes, people are stupid.
IMO if you don’t know that doing anything while driving is a bad idea..well you should be allowed to drive..lol..oh and I’m in maryland and I see people do this all the time..accidents too..sad.
Yeah, people should use some common sense. I really don’t understand why some people insist on answering incoming calls even when they don’t have their handsfree on. Why is it so important not to miss any calls? And don’t even get me started on people who text while driving!
At this point PSAs about driving whilst talking on ye cellphone would be a bit of a waste, seeing as most people know the dangers. PSAs about txting while driving might be more useful, as txting while driving is a bit newer.
I hear you are a neighbor of mine.
I didn’t have many issues with cell phone + driving in Michigan. The roads where I lived were fairly rural so it wasn’t a problem and I NEVER texted because I didn’t have the ability. But since moving here I have pretty much stopped using my cell phone while driving all together. I’ve never been one of those drivers who texts, but I can hardly talk on the phone while driving here because I’m concentrating so hard on traffic. I prefer to just not use it. When I went on my long trip to Michigan my boyfriend forced me to take his bluetooth headset with so I could talk to people while I was driving. It was a great idea. Maybe I will get one after all. I didn’t used to think them necessary. It does voice dialing and everything so you don’t ever need to touch the phone.
Oooh, also — While in Michigan I got stuck in some stop and go traffic on the freeway during construction. The girl in front of me was READING A BOOK! I was irate! Every time I could see the book I honked at her. I’m sure the people behind me thought I was some insane out of towner because they couldn’t see what she was doing, when really I was home and she was being an IDIOT! I just couldn’t believe it. Same with ladies and makeup. Do it when you arrive at your destination with the car in park!
/end rant
@petitenoirtenue - True that.
@bendecida83 - @Drizzles - @Redshirte - @Roadlesstaken - There’s PSAs for things like drunk driving and yet sadly, there are just some that still choose to do it!
@buckeyegirl31 - All of that sneakiness is kind of scary!
@fauquet - @BoureeMusique - Yes, anytime you don’t focus solely on the road, it is definitely a distraction!
@vanedave - @icepearlz - Who the heck do people need to talk to all the time? No one is that important.
@pax_intus - It’s interesting you make the point about drinking versus phones. There was some article from Car and Driver where they did a study of reaction times while people were driving versus texting. Texting had the longest reaction times! Pretty scary…
@LadyShades - It’s not so bad to just require hands free phones. It’s so much more safe!
@bmwilliams83 - LOL, I concur.
@JOUKKO - Oh if only that were allowed. That’s a measure that I could get behind
People do really dumb things when driving. Being in a car does not make you invincible.
@angi1972 - Sadly, this is true.
@Kawfee - Like I commented to someone else, some people seem to think that driving a car makes them invincible. It’s a scary line of thinking!
@Rob_of_the_Sky - I agree. So many people think that just because you can quickly text, it means that you are still focused on the road.
@obama_on_x - I am. I see you driving all over the city. Nice ride!
@FillTheSpace - I really, really don’t understand the reading thing. There’s been all these stories lately about Ride On (MoCo’s bus system) and Metro bus drivers reading while driving passengers. That’s freakin scary! Driving a bus would be scary enough!
Ah that would be a no and a no
Since when is releasing data lobbying?
You’d think no one would need a constant reminder of how dangerous it is, but people are still idiotic enough to believe that it is ok to get behing the wheel with a cell phone or alcohol…. no matter how much common sense should prevail. These are the people that endanger lives and ruin the experience for the rest of us.
Darn right that omission of info is irksome. And a disservice to the public. Congress ought to be ashamed of themselves. Oh, yeah, they’re politicians.
Cell phones + driving = scary-ness.
While it’s troubling that the held up that information for no valid reasons mentioned so far, I agree that that info wouldn’t have been heeded by many folks. However, it could have been used to enact laws limiting cell phone use much sooner.
It’s tragic that so many people have no common sense or good judgement to make what I think would be a simple decision not to text, call, or do some other type of distracting activity while you are operating a moving vehicle. But judging from the auto, train and trolley accidents, apparently that isn’t the case.
The problem is there are many folks who are a few fries short of a happy meal and think warnings apply to people other than themselves- and they put us all at risk.