U.S. National Safety Council Urges Total Cell Phone Ban While Driving.

[Stuart G]

U.S. National Safety Council urges a total ban on cell phones while driving

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jSy2T-h-OLgkGMfoo2fRlywMZIYQ

13 hours ago

WASHINGTON — A U.S. national safety group is advocating a total ban on cell phone use while driving, saying the practice is clearly dangerous and leads to fatalities.

The National Safety Council says states should ban drivers from using hand-held and hands-free cell phones.

It also says businesses should prohibit employees from using cell phones while driving on the job.

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The article says it would save 2500 deaths a year, and thousands of accidents, and is just as dangerous as driving drunk..


"One was a study by the Harvard Centre for Risk Analysis that estimates six per cent of vehicle crashes, causing about 2,600 deaths and 12,000 serious injuries a year, are attributable to cell phone use."

[Vinca]

1. We have a roundabout intersection to traverse everyday.

We've always called it the "circle of death" because of the way people drive through it and the cell phone drivers are the very worst.

[Stuart G]

2. Let's say that banning them would actually save 1000 lives, and

5000 serious injuries a year.
It would mean to make an important call, someone would have to pull over, and stop for a few minutes.

Would it be worth it...unimportant calls would have to wait...Is wait a dirty word?

[madrchsod]

3. you mean my wife would`t be able to--->

smoke and talk on her cell phone while changing lanes? yelling does no good.."oh i do this all the time"

[ProdigalJunkMail]

4. as said on the other thread...

while i agree that a ban on cell phones might be a good thing it does raise a couple of interesting questions. How do you impose a hands-free ban? And what of just talking in the car with the person next to you? Certainly that has caused a myriad of wrecks, particularly when the discussion becomes intense or heated. And while we're at it, we should ban teens from riding in cars together because that in itself causes fatal accidents.

we are going a little far on the cell phone thing...next it will be nothing but one-seater cars for everyone.

sP

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. One of my new years resolutions was to stop using my cell phone while driving

So far, it hasn't been a burden. I don't turn it off, but I just don't answer it when it rings. I wait till I arrive at my destination and return the call.

What inspired me was I was in a parking lot on foot, talking on the phone. And a car almost hit me. I was in the crosswalk and if I had been hit it would have been the driver's fault but it freaked me out that I was so oblivious to that car because I was talking on the phone.

[MadHound]

6. As one who regularly rides a scooter

I have to applaud this move. All of my close calls have been caused by idiots who were so involved with their phone conversations that they couldn't bother to notice a bright red, lighted scooter with a big guy on it. I've nearly been run over from the front, rear and sides by idiots gabbing away on their phones.

[Stevenmarc]

7. And while we're at it let's ban

Children, since they are a huge backseat distraction that takes the drivers eyes of the road. Cupholders, because you should have both hands on the wheel instead of dealing with your latte fix. Sunvisor mirrors, because there is a time and place for mascara application and a moving car is neither the time nor the place. The point is that there are a plethora of distractions one encounters while driving but hands free cell calls are a whole lot less distracting than fumbling for a phone and is practically unenforceable law.

[happyslug]

9. Children are rarely a problem,

Children in a car, like passengers in a car, see the same thing as the driver and reacts to those same inputs (i.e. Come to an intersection the children and other passengers start to look for other cars? Why? Because the driver is and we ALL do follow the leader. Thus having children or other passengers in the car is rarely a cause of an accident (The big exception is teenagers, teenagers have less accidents when adults are in the car with them OR they are by themselves, but with a group of other teens the accidents rates go up, but this appears to be more a reflection of teen age boys trying to impress their friends with how fast they can drive, once excess speed in controlled for the number come down to what adults have in accidents).

The reason for the increase in Accidents do to the use of Cell Phone is how people interact when on the phone. When the person on the other side say something you want to hear it AND respond to it, even if you are otherwise occupied. i.e. coming to an intersection and need to look both ways. With Passengers, the driver and the passengers are interacting with the movement of the car together, so when a bad point of the drive occurs, everyone stops talking. We do it automatically. We all see that a problem can develop and concentrate on it NOT the previous conversation. The person on the cell phone with the driver can not and does not see such problems and keeps on talking. We automatically want to respond to anyone talking to us for it must be safe to do so. Thus people on Cell phone often find themselves in a bad situation, a situation where they need to concentrate on what is occurring on the road AND the instinct to what to respond to the person we are talking to. Notice if the person we are talking to is a passenger, the division of attention rarely, if ever comes up, the passengers concentrate on the problem on the road as is the driver and they just shut up. A person on the Cell Phone is NOT reacting to what is occurring in the car, for the person on the cell phone is some place else. Thus the driver is caught between two instincts, one to drive the car in a safe manner (The instinct is to be safe NOT to drive a car) AND an instinct to respond to the person we are talking to. This division of attention is the real killer by Cell Phone. Hands free does NOT address this problem. Driving is something we have to concentrate on to do well, and a lot of people get away with dividing their attention do to the fact most of the roads we drive are good, but that makes the situation worse for we get use to getting away with dividing our attention and sooner or later it is going to come back and hurt us (Or more likely hurt someone else the driver runs into or over).

My point is simple, it is NOT passengers or other people in the car that is the problem, but the fact the Cell Phone demands out attention and the division of attention can be a killer.

[Ioo]

8. Screw that - I have built in bluetooth in my car. I do not handle phone at all

while I am driving.

What next, ban people talking in the car with you?

"Turn left here!"

"Shhh no talking"