tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152270.post115325282364665547..comments2024-03-26T12:23:35.307-05:00Comments on The Buck Stops Here: Driving and CellphonesStuart Buckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731724396708879386noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152270.post-1153774249277731332006-07-24T15:50:00.000-05:002006-07-24T15:50:00.000-05:00Several times recently I have been driving and tel...Several times recently I have been driving and telling a story to a passenger, when I completely missed something outside the car that I should have noticed (fortunately, no harm to anyone).<BR/><BR/>I don't know if a cell phone would be worse.<BR/><BR/>In any case, it may be illegitimate to assume that talking to a passenger is not distracting.Roger Sweenyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12734128265493099062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152270.post-1153394554473278232006-07-20T06:22:00.000-05:002006-07-20T06:22:00.000-05:00I would agree with your concluding paragraph. And ...I would agree with your concluding paragraph. And would extend it to consider that talkng on the phone is a little like daydreaming (ie the imagining that you are somewhere else). To me it is a similar sort of distraction.<BR/><BR/>I am similarly distracted when replaying or "pre"playing events, meetings or stressful situations in my mind, sometimes even talking out aloud in these situations. <BR/><BR/>Should I then be banned from talking to myself while driving? <BR/><BR/>No, in both cases (cellphone use & daydreaming) we should apply our common sense. On a long straight highway through the desert there is little danger in either practice.<BR/><BR/>On a busy urban street (try the centre of Johannesburg) I certainly cannot afford to daydream or use my cellphone simply because I am aware that in this environment I may need to react very quickly to my surroundings. (Besides I may just have my car window smashed & cellphone grabbed - but that is another debate).<BR/><BR/>An absurd (but perhaps fairer) way of managing the risk of cellphone use while driving would be to have restrictions in certain areas or at certain times of day. Much like the varying speed restrictions which are in place - essentially premised on the risk of going too fast.ATWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05367400230867490071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3152270.post-1153263096289106912006-07-18T17:51:00.000-05:002006-07-18T17:51:00.000-05:00Haven't you ever had phone conversations where you...Haven't you ever had phone conversations where you were paying more attention to what was going on around you than to the phone? Maybe you were watching TV or on the computer, but you were paying more attention to that than to the person on the other end of the line. I think if you act that way while you're driving, you might not have your driving ability hindered. Maybe you just have to intentionally concentrate more on driving than on the phone.<BR/><BR/>Perhaps the reason more people don't do this is that they have driven a lot and tend to be bored by driving, so the phone conversation is more interesting, and they therefore want to pay more attention to it.Joseph Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139315099659019478noreply@blogger.com