Community poll forum: Talking on the phone while driving

I was a volunteer bobby for 8 years and occasionally took an unmarked car out. I got quite a few drivers while they were happily chatting away on their phones. Must admit to a perverse pleasure in giving them a ticket.

Never got a single one while driving a marked car - I wonder why ... ?

The next time you pick up that cup-o-joe while you ride to work, better be prepared to commit yourself to do some hard time. How is any other distracting task different than a cell phone. You are saying, mothers (or fathers) should leave the kids at home, rip the radio out of the cars, and have only one seat in the car (you cant drive and talk remember, no sense in having a passenger).

Learn to multi-task. If you cant talk on a phone while you drive, you better just take a bus.

For a lot of drivers I've seen out on the roads, perhaps ripping all the seats out would be a good idea... No, really, I love talking on the phone while I'm driving. It makes the time go by on long, otherwise boring trips. It's amazing how fast you get places when you aren't focused on the damn road! Hahahaha

if you talking on the phone then why drive,it just asking for trouble,watching the country side speed bye while on a phone,people who do talk on phones should see the pics when accidents do happen,then you would change your mind........

Jeeeezzzzooo, don't get your panties in a wad!! I didn't mean to make light of a really bad situation, however, I have a Blackberry with a wireless handsfree headset. I wouldn't consider talking in heavy traffic, preferring to let those calls go to voicemail. But, which is worse, pulling over on a busy freeway to call back and being hit by another car who isn't paying attention to the road, or answering the phone using a headset and getting a little business done. I don't have to hold the phone and I do consider myself a multi-tasker. I think I can talk and drive at the same time. Sometimes I even walk and chew gum. Trust me, I have seen the idiots who cross over the center line, run red lights, etc... I consider myself to be an excellent driver and have a perfect driving record. However, driving long distances is part of my job. That's why I got a bluetooth wireless headset. I have taken the extra steps and spent the extra $$ to reduce the danger of talking while driving.

Alright, so you've admitted that its crazy to talk into the handset while driving - that takes your one hand away from the wheel/controls & that's bad!

Alright, so you've got a road-job & you've been wise enuff to invest a few extra $$ in that bluetooth headset.

Alright, you're a multi-tasker & an excellent driver to boot with the perfect driving record & you fear being rear-ended by others not paying attention (wow.. where did THAT concern come from?? :O)

... so where'll all this leave you when you DO make that horrible mistake while on your wireless blackberry?? Sure, your record is no longer unblemished, big deal! Except you've just changed someone else's life irreversibly!!!

Be wise - use the voicemail instead! You may be grateful for it!!

Ok, I'm sure that most people know this already, but for the sake of argument (and because some people really like to argue), let me settle the issue.

Yes, humans can multi-task to some extent -- but the problem isn't whether or not we should use cell phones - it's how we use them. It's the number of things going on:

1 - You're having a conversation with someone else. Ok, that's fairly mild, cuz we all do it, but it distracts somewhat.

2 - One of your hands is completely tied up holding a cell -- otherwise, your neck is at a really odd angle, bent to your shoulder, to keep the phone on your ear. This is the biggest problem. because you're in a bad driving position and you begin to lose control.

The two combined -- distraction and bad driving position - are deadly. It's as bad as the idiots who read books or put on makeup while driving. No point being in a hurry if you get in a wreck! Then you'll be even more late.

A hands-free set minimizes the distractions, you can keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel. And most phones support voice dailing now, so it's even easier. You can't stop technology, but you can certainly use it with more sense.

So. Wake up a little earlier, plan ahead, get your makeup on, put in the ear piece, and don't read a freakin book! You'll be fine.

Please don't compare drinking coffee with talking on a cell phone while driving! Talking on a cell involves a thought process in the mind while thinking about what you and the other person is saying. You are not focused and concentrating on the road and traffic...forget that both hands are not on the wheel. "Learn to multi-task..."? I hope you are kidding! Multi-tasking is fine in the office but not when you are driving a two-ton car 65 MPH down the road in rush hour traffic. I suppose you think lane weaving in and out and passing on the right, all without turn signals, is also OK at the same time. I've seen that all to often as well.

How can you compare a 2second sip of coffe vs 20 minutes on the phone.
There is a big difference in people on the phone.
It rates right with women doing their eyes while driving.
They go into their own little world with no concept of what is happening right infront of their eyes.
I've witnessed many a car just slow down or not even slow down when they come to a stop sign: while talking on the phone. I've witnessed drivers on cell phones go thru red lights and just wave at people like 'get over it in 5 minutes you'll forget about it.'
I've watched people not even slow down for kids crossing in the crosswalks at schools because their 'phoneworld' doesn't apply to that.
And I hate when they are doing 35mph on a 65mph freeway, speeding up to 65 and slowing back down to 35 again and again while on the cell phone.
Damn dude...you are a jerk to beleive that people on the cell phone are not in another world. So many accidents and deaths. But never in a report.
I was rear ended sitting at a red light...because the idiot behind me was on a cell phone, and he thought I had gone.
GONE WHERE? IT'S A RED LIGHT!!

.. maybe its time to get that color-blindness test done!

I challenge anyone who thinks that cell phone use while driving doesn't distract from their driving to try to remenber what they saw as they talked and drove. Hands free or not, it doesn't matter. You cannot pay full attention to your driving.

Some folks get so distracted while talking, that it's like they're in another world! They need a seat that bumps them back into reality! >:)

Hello, you from the UK? Ive read recently one of those articles from Clarkson where he said he was stopped by the police for smoking a cigarette in his own car. Is there any law there that forbids such a thing? Or were the police officers only looking for an autograph?

I watched an episode of "Myth Busters" where they compared the effects of driving while intoxicated and talking on your cell phone. They proved that talking on a cell distracts the driver to the point where he/she is just as dangerous as an intoxicated driver. While some will argue that using a handsfree device while talking negates the danger. It doesn't. You are still distracted from the road, maybe not as bad as holding a phone to your ear, but still enough to be a dangerous driver. It's not worth taking a life for something that is bad judgment. Pull over and then talk. And for those that argue what about talking while driving? Well, any conversation that is intense or engaged will also distract you from the road, so it is also as bad.