There are a few jurisdictions in Canada that are working toward legislation that would ban using a cell phone while driving. The number of people who are strongly against cell phone use while driving continues to grow . Although there are conflicting studies as to whether talking on a cell phone affects your ability to drive safely, it appears that laws banning cell phone use while driving may be imminent. Having used a cell phone from time to time while driving, I can vouch for the fact that it's hard to turn your head to the same extent with a phone pressed to your face - this seriously affects vision. Also, I think it would be hard to argue that talking on the phone really distracts you from the task you would otherwise be focussed on.Unfortunately, I fear that imposing a solution at this point in the cell phone's history may be moot. Cell phone use has become such a part of our driving culture that drivers would not likely obey such a law. How can we expect police to enforce such a law when they don't even have the resources to get a handle on unsafe driving? As much as I feel the behavior is unsafe, especially from drivers who can't drive safely in the first place - it may be too little, too late.
4 comments:
I agree that even if a law is passed that it will be moot. Since it is ingrained into people now, the law will not change that. (e.g. Gov't sets speed limits, but those get broken routinely.)
The focus should not be on banning cell phones but making sure they are used in a safe manner. With bluetooth headsets or a speakerphone options, its plausible that one can have a full range of vision and be focused on the road. By having options which do not require holding onto the phone, talking on the phone is akin to talking to a passenger in your car. Last I checked, no one had to drive by themselves, so it could work.
I disagree.
It's not the act of holding a cell phone that's the distraction. We've all drunk coffee, fiddled with the radio, smoke a cigarette while driving. Being able to perform more than one physical task at a time is the essence of driving.
However, talking to a passenger and talking to a person on the other end of a phone are fundementally different. I wish I could refer the CBC radio article that I heard over a year ago now, just to make sure I'm getting this right, but here goes from memory:
When you're talking to a passenger in car they're in the same environment or context as you. So as some @#$% cuts you off, you shoulder check to change lanes, or the little kid steps out on the curb, they see the same thing you do. Any breaks or pauses in our speech are in context, and the rythym of the speech pattern on both sides of the conversation (driver & passenger) are obvious and require no explaination.
Now, the human brain does a funny thing when we're on a phone: we try to stay coherent. We're not in the same context as our conversational counterpart, and breaks in our conversation due to driving conditions would make it seem as if we're being rude or drunk. Unconsciously we try to stay in context, in this case, the context of the phone call. Some of us may have had the experience of being on the cell phone & having to explain: "Sorry, some SOB just cut me off."?
So it's not a matter of coordination. It's a matter of attention. Furthermore, we're fighting an inate desire to appear coherent, which is difficult if the two ends of the conversation are in different contexts.
Some studies that I've heard (again in passing) have suggested that driving while talking on a cell phone (even hands free) is equivalent to driving with a blood alchohol level over point oh eight.
Maxflex says;
I remember a time where it was perfectly normal to have a beer while diving without a seat belt and the children standing up. Theses habits over time have become the passé and irresponsible in our days. So with the proper education/enforcement, so will the use of cell phone while driving.
I think I mentioned this once before a while back, but I'm also bewildered by the comments some people use to justify resisting a ban on cell-while-driving. For example, Ralph Klein (premier of Alberta) saying, "What's next? Banning eating a sandwich while driving?" Ummm Ralph, you shouldn't be eating while you're driving either.
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