If your insurance company offered you 50% off if they could disable your phone while you were in your car would you accept the offer?

No. Terrible idea. How do you call the police if you see an accident?

And GPS – I use it all the time. Not having it is asking for trouble.

Horrid idea.

And including passenger ideas is just absurd. Not that anyone would heed that in the first place.

I was born in the back of a 1965 lime green Pinto because my mom couldn’t find the hospital.

I’d do it, providing they could disable my phone only while the car was moving.

They could do it whenever I’m in a car, for 100% off.

Why stop there? Why not disable any electronic device in the car? People can, afterall, get just as distracted by fumbling with the car stereo.

That’s a great idea. Sure, my phone is always turned off and in my purse unless I want to make a call. Since 1993 when I got my first mobile phone, I have pulled off the road to make a phone call. So, I would be thrilled with the offer.

@elbanditoroso You pull off the road and make your call. That is the smart thing to do anyway.

Stereo doesn’t have a touchscreen with moving targets. You should see how good I am at changing the volume on my tv using the remote with physical buttons. I can even do it groggy as hell in the dark.

Not being able to use a phone in a car is a safety issue for a woman. No I would not give it up!

My sisters husband.. A bright guy who is actually a foreman helping to dismantle a nuclear power plant right now…. So he used to have to drive me to the hospital for radiation on Fridays so my lovely sister could sleep in (Radiation was M-F). We did the same route every Friday for three months. Up until the very last week he would have to use the GPS to get to the hospital. And it is really only 5 turns and you can see the big ass building from 10 miles away.

The dude was in Iraq as a contractor (not sure about what kind of contractor, but he has a rather large gun safe)... So you would think he would be somewhat good with directions.

In a second.
I would have zero problem with it.

Bullshit theory, well intentioned, badly thought through.
Phone I use hand’s free.
Music..hello Alexa.
May as well never have kids or any front seat passenger, they can be distracting too.

@ucme Oh come on! Get real! How would I drive if my wife (in the passenger seat) wasn’t there to put in her two cents?

@seawulf575 I suspect you miss my point!
My wife makes a decent sat-nav substitute, only with a slightly less sexy voice.

I call the cops while driving fairly often. If emergency calls were exceptions, I’d take that deal. Not sure I can control my passengers activity while I drive either, seems odd.

My husband & I could do that no problem.
We only recently got another one after going a long time without cellphones (over a decade at least-they bug the sh!t out of he & I )
I insisted he get another after his car broke down after midnight on a desolate road. He walked the 11 miles home being followed by coyotes.
We’re not dependent on phones but one would have come in handy then.

@ucme My wife has no clue on how to find anything, but will question when I go a certain direction, will definitely tell me when to slow down (when someone in front of me touches their brakes), when to turn (when I already have my turn signal on), when I need to turn on wipers, when I need to turn them off, when I need to turn them on again, what I should have in my trunk (just in case), when my car needs a wash, where I should park, and every other aspect of driving other than turn by turn navigation.

@seawulf575 Wives huh?
Bless their little hearts, does them good to get out the kitchen once in a while :D
Only kidding girls…it’s good for moral y’know.

@ucme a little piece of regional slang to educate you on: Bless their little hearts. That is something old school southern US women say that can best be equated to “they’re such an idiot”. It is used as in “Bless his little heart, he does try.” Generally used in description of an annoying guy, though I have heard it used occasionally in reference to a woman. There is a lesser known version mostly for women: “But her hair is nice”. Used as in “She is an entirely clueless skank, but her hair is nice”.

No. I use the Waze app every day. It tells me different routes to get to work depending on traffic. I have a 40+ mile commute each way so there are a lot of possibilities. It also gives me an ETA so it helps reduce anxiety when I’m driving, which is beneficial for any long ride, not only the morning commute.

I use Bluetooth and the radio is controlled on the steering wheel. My insurance is fairly cheap so knock on wood, I’m good with not getting a discount and keeping my access to the phone.

Also, to not let the passenger use the phone just makes zero sense.

@seawulf575 Educate? Hahaha!
Again, you miss the point, I know exactly the way it is meant, otherwise the pithy context would have been lost.
Think of both my posts as self deprecating, neanderthal humour & you won’t go far wrong next time.

@ucme and my comments are not serious either. And really, nothing I haven’t said to my wife as well. We chuckle, but she agrees.

Well, only if there was a way to tell that I was actually driving at the moment. I never use my phone to make calls or texts (duh) while driving. If I was a passenger I wouldn’t want my phone disabled.
If I didn’t have GPS, oh Lord what would I ever, ever do. (The same thing I did before 2016, when I got my first smart phone. But that’s been so long ago I’ve forgotten what I did.)

@Darth_Algar Why stop there??? Why not ban ALL passengers as they are a bigger distraction than my cell, my stereo, or anything else that I can think of!!! I hate it when a passenger gasps just as I’m merging into traffic. It always makes me hesitate while I’m trying to determine what they’ve seen that I didn’t. It’s always NOTHING, but could easily cause a wreck with my hesitating!!! IF my cell rings, my Bluetooth announces who is calling & I only need say “answer or ignore” to connect or reject the call. At that point, it is No different in me talking to the caller than it is me talking to the person sitting in the passenger seat. I DON’T text while driving as I choose to pull off the road into a parking space in a parking lot to check any text or respond. Even then it’s ONLY when I’m off to meet someone & I want to make sure everything is OK…otherwise, I IGNORE any texts until I reach my destination & take care of them then!!!

@johnpowell Although I could easily use a 50% discount on my auto insurance & I don’t spend a lot of time using my cell while driving, I would decline simply because I don’t like the idea of them keeping up with when I’m on my phone. IF it was ONLY while the car was moving I might be more agreeable. I meet one friend for lunch twice a month every month & she is ALWAYS late & I spend a good bit of time playing games or getting on the net while I’m waiting on her. I would NOT want that time blocked by my insurance company!!!

Everyone else in the world is keeping up with when you’re on your phone, or when you’re online. Why not insurance companies?

@LadyMarissa: If a passenger made gasping sounds or any other exclamations when I was driving, that would probably be the last time they were being driven by me.

It’s called “co driving,” and that is why is why talking on the phone is not just like talking to a passenger next to you. A passenger is aware of what is going on, and why your attention is suddenly not on them. A person who can’t see what’s going on can’t. They don’t know to shut up for a while while you make a decision.
I’ve ridden with people who make me gasp. They’re terrifying. I try to avoid riding with people like that.

@johnpowell “Stereo doesn’t have a touchscreen with moving targets. You should see how good I am at changing the volume on my tv using the remote with physical buttons. I can even do it groggy as hell in the dark.”

Yes, but you’re not changing the channel on your TV while operating a big, heavy machine moving at speed. If you fuck up with your TV remote nothing and no one is harmed.