Faulkner
Member
"Self government won't work without self discipline." - Paul Harvey
It's a shame that Americans are no longer responsible enough to enjoy our freedoms without government imposed restrictions.
Technology Detects Drivers Handling Mobile Phones
- Thread starter bigwheelzip
- Start date
"Self government won't work without self discipline." - Paul Harvey
It's a shame that Americans are no longer responsible enough to enjoy our freedoms without government imposed restrictions.
forindooruseonly
Member
Amazing how fast people on a firearms shooting community move to ban the use of an inanimate object that is perceived as dangerous....
DeathGrip
US Veteran
How many of us text while shooting?
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I haven't suffered the addiction and don't give out my cell phone number to but a few; people I know won't bother me unless it's a matter of urgency or something we consider equally important. It's also a refreshing respite not to carry the phone at all times and turn it off at dark.
GypsmJim
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Nobody else blasted you, so I guess I will.
You have no business being on the phone in a car. Your attention should be directed 100% on driving. I don't care if you have a 180 IQ and are capable of multi-tasking, most others aren't.
If we let you have the phone, then we have to let the idiots have it as well.
The only reason we have laws is because too many people don't have the common sense or the self discipline to act in a responsible manner.
What ever happened to personal responsibility?
DWalt
Member
What happens when we all have to use autonomous vehicles? I guess talking will be OK then.
In a similar vein, should we be fine with using firearms (“inanimate object”) while consuming alcoholic beverages? What about casually walking down the street pointing your firearm at anyone that passes by?
No one suggested that they considered cellphones dangerous, or that they should be “banned”. I thought the discussion was about the dangerous and irresponsible use of them, thus Faulkner’s Paul Harvey quote.
(I’m also averse to the dangerous and irresponsible use of firearms, and I’m perfectly OK with banning their use by a criminal, careless, incompetent, or any other individual who willfully endangers others with them. By now, I thought the danger posed by cellphone use while driving was indisputable. I guess not.
)
pantannojack
US Veteran
" Keep your hands on the wheel and you eyes upon the ro-oad, " or is it the other way around? " Keep your eyes on the road, and you hands upon the whee-eel". I have little problem with talking voice. BUT I see many women with their eyes down coming the other way. I don't believe they are all muslims. I believe they think they are too smart to need to keep their eyes on the road. A collision while vision distracted is an assualt with a deadly weapon. Broderick Crawford said it 60 years ago: " A (wo)man does'n't drive a car; He aims it."
It's illegal to text but legal in my state to talk on a cell phone while driving and I don't see that as any less safe then talking to the other passengers in the car. I got hit in the rear end by a lady in a Nissan Pathfinder because she was so busy yelling at her kids in the back seat she couldn't concentrate on what was right in front of her. Most people can talk and drive a vehicle properly and safely but some people can't so those people shouldn't. There were hundreds of thousands of car wrecks per year in America before cell phones were invented and as you get older your reflexes are slower, eyesight is worse, you get tired easier, and your driving gets poorer and as Dirty Harry mentioned, YOU have to know your limitations.
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Sistema1927
US Veteran
As a pilot, I never had any trouble aviating, navigating, and communicating, all at the same time. Yes, I didn't need to maintain a lane, unless you count that pesky glide slope during an instrument approach. I had to look at charts, checklists, and the instruments, all at the same time.
As an amateur radio operator, I was talking on the radio long before I owned a cell phone, and have driven many, many accident free miles while carrying on conversations with folks all over the world.
Human beings are capable of multi-tasking. The problem today is that people don't drive first and communicate second. They are more interested in their digital virtual world than the real one all around them.
Back to being a pilot: It was drilled into me to prioritize my tasks, and first aviate, second navigate, and third communicate. Don't do tasks 2 or 3 if you can't do task number 1.
This was also the way that I conducted my amateur radio activities. In heavy traffic or bad driving conditions I put the mic down, choosing only to communicate when it was safe to do so. Same with my cell phone use. I would never text and drive, too much inattention to the outside world, but find no problem talking on the phone using a bluetooth device.
Maybe instead of a blanket "thou shalt not talk on the cell phone and drive", maybe what we need is enforcement of distracted driving laws, no matter what the reason is for you not being able to maintain your lane or operate your vehicle in a safe manner.
As an amateur radio operator, I was talking on the radio long before I owned a cell phone, and have driven many, many accident free miles while carrying on conversations with folks all over the world.
Human beings are capable of multi-tasking. The problem today is that people don't drive first and communicate second. They are more interested in their digital virtual world than the real one all around them.
Back to being a pilot: It was drilled into me to prioritize my tasks, and first aviate, second navigate, and third communicate. Don't do tasks 2 or 3 if you can't do task number 1.
This was also the way that I conducted my amateur radio activities. In heavy traffic or bad driving conditions I put the mic down, choosing only to communicate when it was safe to do so. Same with my cell phone use. I would never text and drive, too much inattention to the outside world, but find no problem talking on the phone using a bluetooth device.
Maybe instead of a blanket "thou shalt not talk on the cell phone and drive", maybe what we need is enforcement of distracted driving laws, no matter what the reason is for you not being able to maintain your lane or operate your vehicle in a safe manner.
OP
bigwheelzip
Absent Comrade
You folks are out of the loop on mobile phone use these days. Most mobile phone use is data. Among many users it's considered rude to call and calls go unanswered, yet texts are answered immediately.
Texts and Apps are what it is all about for the majority of mobile use. That generally requires both thumbs and increased attention directed to the mobile device and away from the road.
My car uses Android Auto to read and send texts hands free, but that's not good enough for some people.
I think every motor vehicle using public roads should have an operating cellphone jammer that activates when the car is moving and deliberately deactivating it should be an offense with penalty of forfeiture of the vehicle. This regulation should apply to ALL vehicles, specifically including “public safety”/emergency vehicles. No exclusions.
Yes, I realize this would be tough to enforce, AND very unpopular.
Careful with that. It's going places you really don't want it to go.
There are times when being able to use a cell phone in a moving car is an important safety issue.
People have been pulled over by unmarked cars with lights, called 911 to check if there is an officer in the area, and then been advised there is NOT and told to continue to drive to a safe, well lit and populated area while they send a unit in response. A cell phone jammer would prevent that.
Similarly, there are other times when a passenger is able to call or help, call for directions, order lunch at a stop ahead, or any other number of useful things that do not involve the driver at all.
Also, I have a wireless hands free system in my Tacoma. If you've ever owned a Taco, you know that they are fairly basic as pick up trucks go. But it has that feature and it's very easy to use. There's no need to take your eyes off the road or your hands off the road to accept or end a call, and initiating a call can be done with 2 touches on a larger, near eye level touch screen or it can be done verbally. I'm just not seeing a public threat with that system. In fact, driving at night it means I can call my wife and have a conversation if I'm feeling sleepy to get my brain back up and running in a fully awake state - a big deal when I had to commute to and from DC every couple weeks. That use actually increases safety on the road.
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Now please take this bit to heart.
I've pointed out legitimate uses for cell phones in moving vehicles that either do not pose a public threat, or actually improve safety. You may not engage in those uses personally. But if you persist in your view that all cell phone use in a vehicle should be banned because you personally don't have a use for it and/or because some individuals choose to be irresponsible, then congratulations, you've adopted the same flawed logic as the anti-gun crowd.
It's deceptively easy to use an outright ban to prevent irresponsible use as it's quick and easy, especially if you have no skin in the game.
It's far harder, but ultimately far better and far more effective to instead develop legislation and regulations that require responsible use and penalize only those who are irresponsible, rather than penalizing responsible users.
That will be very popular with muggers in subway cars - no way to call 911.
Next time you get a brainstorm like this, or hear one from someone else, spend 5 minutes thinking about unintended consequences.
I've said that it would be nice if people would be responsible but since many are not, how about technology that shuts down a cell phone while driving in a vehicle? It can include a 911 override for emergencies.
That was the "Black Crow" system used on the AC-130. It could detect a truck ignition up to 10 miles away.
Cell phones currently know if they are moving. That's existing technology and could be done with a firmware update. It also means a driver could still pull off the road and make a call, rather than having the phone shut off due to other car ignitions going by the parked car.
Also consider for a minute the need to call 911 when an accident occurs and there are cars driving by.
In short, it's a solution in search of a problem, and one that creates further problems and costs additional lives downstream.
So you drive in total silence? Or is having a conversation on a hands free cell phone in some way different than having a conversation with someone in the car?
Are you also saying that police officers should not monitor or respond to radio calls?
Maybe you are saying that pilot should not communicate with crew members, or with air traffic control?
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My thoughts are that if you do not have or no longer have the division of attention skills needed to communicate and drive, it's time to hang up the keys.
When I got my Instrument Rating 30 years ago I learned that instrument flying is really about just 3 things:
- precision flying;
- division of attention; and
- spatial awareness.
Modern moving map displays and GPS make spatial awareness easier (until the technology fails), but some pilots will never be instrument pilots because they don't have the required division of attention ability, or lack the stick and rudder skills needed to precisely control the aircraft.
Drivers are the same way, some lack division of attention skills, and others just have really poor coordination. They need to recognize those limitations and we need to hold them accountable, rather than forcing the other 90% to dumb down to their level.
Sistema1927
US Veteran
What really scares me about this thread are the number of folks who want a "guvmint" solution, rights be damned.
Freedom is often messy, but a darned sight better than the alternative.
Freedom is often messy, but a darned sight better than the alternative.
