Is it really that important to talk on the phone while driving?

Not this important.

Does it still bother you if they are using a hands free headset?

@Ansible1 You assume it bothers me. I’m just asking what’s so important?
As for hands free, I think that’s reasonable.

I don’t even have a cell phone. I don’t see what is so hard about pulling over if you need to talk. I would actually like to know that I will be left alone when I go out. If I had kids I would have a cell phone. But I would pull over if I had to make/receive a call. But I don’t drive to I guess that is irrelevant.

@Ansible1 :: That seems like a fine compromise. It is like talking to a passenger. I see people texting while driving. That is fucked up.

Irritates the hell outta me when I see people talking on their cells whilst driving. So freakin’ dangerous. I agree with johnpowell. Pull over and make your call, if ya need to!

yes :)

No, it isn’t. You can pull over and take the call, or wait until you get to a stopping place to return a call. Too many times folks are focusing on the phone conversation and forget to watch the road.

Nope says a guy who had 3 people pull out in front of him today, 1 forcing him to drive off the on ramp, one up the curb and slam on the brakes and one who was also smoking in the other hand.

@Bri_L I’m glad you made it through the day.

Maybe if the person on the other end is giving you directions. But generally, no. It’s really fucking annoying to see some bimbo yammering away as she almost side-swipes me with my baby in the back seat. Hang the fuck up already. It can wait. You are not cool, you’re retarded and dangerous. There are few conversations that really can’t wait.

I don’t think it’s that big of a deal people use the phone while driving, if they are responsible enough to do two things at once. Unfortunately most people aren’t. It’s just as dangerous as playing with your iPod or radio, drinking coffee, screaming baby, talking passengers, loud music, lipstick, reaching for a smoke, whatever else people do in a car.
I don’t mean having a 20 minute chat about your new shoes, but a quick call.

I talk on my phone and drive all the time.
What’s the argument against it, exactly? That’s what I’ve always been stumped on. Is it that driving with one hand reduces driving ability, or is it that focusing on something other than driving inhibits your reaction time? Am I close?
It’s not that I disagree with the idea that people should focus on the road as much as possible, it’s just that it seems to me that there are far worse things to target than talking on a cell phone. I was almost rearended this morning by someone who had both hands on a Big Mac and was driving with his knees. You don’t hear people complaining about people who eat and drive very often.

Yeah, I made that assumption. It’s just when I heard your question in my head it led me to believe something happened recently that aggrivated you. A friend of mine once told me there’s no danger when they text and drive b/c they don’t have to look at their phone to do it

“focusing on something other than driving inhibits your reaction time”

That is it in a nutshell. The problem is that a lot more people chat on the phone and drive than do other stuff and drive.

Something did happen recently in the news that aggravates me, and several times today people on phones pulled a stupid trick while driving that caused me to have to drive extra defensively.

@Ansible1 I take a train to work. Bad drivers are not an issue for me. Not a big phone talker either.

@lefteh : I think that it’s that you’re only using one hand, as well as obstructing your view with the hand that’s holding the phone. And whether you realize it or not, you’re spending some of your concentration on holding the phone and holding it steady. People eating and driving bug me too. I remember watching a 60 minutes segment on it when I was much younger. It also included women putting makeup on and other dangerous activities. I actually saw a cop fumbling with a sandwich when she lost control of the wheel. I called the police department and reported her ass.

@ubersiren I knew a girl who would put on her make-up at 60 mph on the highway. She was a dangerous driver even when she wasn’t preoccupied.

I think if you’re doing something that requires both hands and feet, your brain should be involved also.

Would you say the majority of ppl using cell phones while driving is men or women?

Interesting read

Surprising in my mind. I guess I was wrong.

I think, realistically, all those things are very dangerous given what your actually doing and your lack of control over the environment around you.

I also think none of it is going to change much.

yea. if im talking its always important.

It’s never important to talk on the phone while driving because what is most important is the driver’s concentration on operating the motor vehicle and keeping in mind that their safety and the safety of others on the road is paramount above all else. Any and all disractions diverting a driver’s attention are dangerous and risky and should be avoided as much as possible.

I don’t think it’s that important, this one time my phone was ringing while I was driving and I didn’t even bother to even check to see who it was until I reached my destination because waiting a couple minutes is better than being dead

From the study linked by @Bri_L: “For the driving population at large, simple casual conversation seems to have little impact upon the ability of people to notice and respond to the demands of the highway and its other users. Nor does the act of placing calls seem to divert attention, although drivers may take some fraction of a second longer on the average to respond.”

Not unless you’re lost and getting directions or stuck in traffic and giving an ETA update.

Also from the study linked by @Bri_L : “The results of the study that has been described carry two significant implications for use of cellular phones. First, all users of cellular phones should be advised not to engage in intense phone conversations while the vehicle is moving. Businesses whose employees regularly carry on transactions by means of cellular phones might advise, or even direct that protracted dealings over the phone be avoided while the vehicle is underway.

The second implication has to do with older drivers. Not only is the performance deficit of drivers over 50 years of age significantly greater than that of younger drivers, but it prevails over all three of the cellular phone tasks studied. If there is any group that should not be using cellular phones while driving, it is those in the older age group. Gerontological research in general shows that the severe deterioration in mental processes tends to become more and more prevalent beyond age 70. One might therefore expect markedly greater instances of failure to respond to highway-traffic situations at these advanced years. Unfortunately, the number of test subjects in this age category was not sufficient to permit this possibility to be tested. ”

In other words, a quick call to say “I’ll be home in 15 minutes. Love you!” is okay, but not a long-winded gossip session or a complicated discussion of anything.

Only if the one person who knows how to drive has had a heart attack and the caller needs help figuring out how to pull over. xD

This sucks because I was and am so against it but that study shows different.

The only thing I can say is, the people knew they were in a study.

Well, after having nearly been T-boned more times than should be possible in one lifetime, I think talking and driving is right up there with drinking and driving. I swear, if some dumb fuck runs into me while jabbering on the cell phone, if I can walk, I’m going to pick up that damn phone and shove it right up their ass. I just hope someone calls the idiot two minutes later.

I don’t think handsfree makes that much of a difference, as the reason for most of these accidents is not that the driver had just one hand on the wheel instead of two (I always drive with one hand anyway, with the other one resting on the gearstick), but the lack of concentration. When you’re talking on the phone you’re not paying that much attention to the road, and in fact you shouldn’t even be talking to people in the car. I admit I do it, and I even send messages from my phone or take pics while driving (looking straight ahead though), but only when I’m on a road I know well and there’s not much traffic.

@evelyns_pet_zebra – testify!

Additional interesting data in this thread

I never talk on the phone while I am driving, either with or without a hands-free device (of which I have two). It’s just plain unsafe. And when I get a phone call from someone who is calling me from their car, I tell them to hang up the fucking phone and drive! And then I immediately hang up at my end to keep the conversation as short as possible.

I think people don’t want to be alone, they usually are in the car and they don’t know what to do with themselves. Time to make a call.

Of course not everyone that’s on the phone falls in the category, and I can’t listen to people’s conversations in their car, but stand next to someone in the grocery store who’s on the phone and get a feel for the importance of the conversation.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m at the store… buying shampoo… yeah. Funkdaddy’s a douche… yeah… uh huh… I never liked him… What are you doing this weekend? Uh huh… alright, call me later.”

That’s usually the gist of it. I look at it like this, if someone else was in the car, would they be on the phone? If not, it’s probably not important.

Yes, but I use an ear bud. I very rairly have the phone to my head.

Well, many people can’t focus on driving when they are on their cell phone. hmm, should I mention lovers!! I think unless urgent cell phone should wait till you arrive somewhere.