Cell phones being used in vehicles while driving. Pros. Cons.

Where I live using a cell phone while driving is illegal, doesn't seem to matter, I've even seen cops on theirs while driving.

I would hate to see hands free use banned, but will admit even hands free it's a disteaction. But is it more of a distraction than singing with the radio? Talking to a passenger? Eating? Dog on your lap? Applying makeup? Where do you draw the line?
 

LadyEmeraude said:
I VERY MUCH AGREE.
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And how do you handle your partner, husband, friend, ect., having an alcoholic beverage before driving home or to a destination? Seems like we are very lenient regarding drinking and driving as long as we can manage to stagger to our cars and figure out how to get them started.
Total hypocrisy within our society. ☹️
 
as mentioned by Kadee above manually using mobile phones in cars is already illegal here - and I believe P plate drivers ( ie in first 2 years of having full licence) must have them i n the back set, not within reach at the front, even if not in use

However using your phone as music or GPS or hands free calls is fine.
Of course don't do a detailed work conference or a detailed conversation when you are concentrating on the road- but short calls like Be there in 10 minutes, or Can you get milk on way home , are fine
 

DaveA said:
And how do you handle your partner, husband, friend, ect., having an alcoholic beverage before driving home or to a destination? Seems like we are very lenient regarding drinking and driving as long as we can manage to stagger to our cars and figure out how to get them started.
Total hypocrisy within our society. ☹️
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I'm a bit lost as to what is hypocritical - using mobile phone (unless hands free) and driving over the limit are both wrong and I dont think society is at all lenient about drink driving. The law certainly isnt.
 
C50 said:
I would hate to see hands free use banned, but will admit even hands free it's a disteaction. But is it more of a distraction than singing with the radio? Talking to a passenger? Eating? Dog on your lap? Applying makeup? Where do you draw the line?
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can't imagine trying to apply make up while driving - or even when just being a passenger.

But dogs on your lap is illegal here - they must be properly secured with either a seat beat harness or i n a crate

the other things would be too hard to legislate but I guess up to everyone to know their own limits - some posters have said for example, they don't like talking to passengers
Eating something like dim-sims or a cookie on long highway trip- have done that many times but wouldn't try to eat a roast dinner in urban traffic.
 
I have a bit of a different take on this. I rarely receive calls these days since I've retired, but when I'm driving my iPhone is tucked into a wireless charging pad under the armrest. The calls come up on my screen. If it is the doctor or dentist's office I will click Accept and make the conversation quick. It is usually to confirm an appointment. I consider these necessary calls. I would never chat on the phone with a friend unless I parked or could do it at home.

In fact, it angers me when I see someone holding a phone up to their face. Specifically those with late-model, fancy cars. I see soccer moms in Range Rovers doing it all the time. This could easily be done hands-free if it happens to be an emergency. For those who don't have hands-free, they should park somewhere if they are going to prattle on.

I will admit that when I was working and heading home in rush hour traffic from the airport I would talk hand-free with the office. Traffic was virtually stopped so I wasn't distracted. The office would have been closed by the time I arrived home. I've never been involved in an accident that was my fault in the 19 years we've lived in Dallas. I was once rear-ended by someone who was on his phone!
 
January said:
as mentioned by Kadee above manually using mobile phones in cars is already illegal here - and I believe P plate drivers ( ie in first 2 years of having full licence) must have them i n the back set, not within reach at the front, even if not in use

However using your phone as music or GPS or hands free calls is fine.
Of course don't do a detailed work conference or a detailed conversation when you are concentrating on the road- but short calls like Be there in 10 minutes, or Can you get milk on way home , are fine
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If my husband is expecting a call about something important he uses a little switch on his hearing aids to answer his phone , its not very often….

Im not 100% clear on SA ….phone rules , but what I’ve seen on the 7 pm current affairs ….you are not allowed to take or make any calls what so ever while driving ….ill have to check that one out

I never use my phone while driving….nah no way …if it rings the rare times I’m out alone …I stop and call the caller
back ( if I know the caller ) I live in a country area

and then there’s others who have been sprung for simply having the phone in their laps …if it shows on detection camera as ‘ lit up“ it’s oblivious the driver …is in the phone
 
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South Australian Fines


More than $30 million in fines and levies have been issued in the first six months since mobile phone detection cameras were introduced on Adelaide roads.

Figures released by SA Police on Tuesday show the rate at which drivers are being pinged using their mobile phones illegally is declining – with 28,120 expiation notices issued in the first three months and 18,356 in the following three months to March 18 this year. This equals a total of 46,476 fines.
 
January said:
can't imagine trying to apply make up while driving - or even when just being a passenger.

But dogs on your lap is illegal here - they must be properly secured with either a seat beat harness or i n a crate

the other things would be too hard to legislate but I guess up to everyone to know their own limits - some posters have said for example, they don't like talking to passengers
Eating something like dim-sims or a cookie on long highway trip- have done that many times but wouldn't try to eat a roast dinner in urban traffic.
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Like you mentioned @January
Overvie


Yes, in South Australia, you can use a phone cradle to answer calls while driving, but only for audio calls, and the phone must be securely mounted and operated without touching it (e.g., voice command) or by touching it to answer/end the call. You cannot touch the phone for any other function, like texting, social media, or changing music, and learner/P1 drivers can't use phones at all


We have a 5 year old car ,and of course it has buttons on the steering wheel to do all sorts of things including answering the phone , however hubs disabled that cause when we were at home the calls were still going through
the car ( our phone didn’t ring ) it rang in the car …even without the car being on ….
 
We travel to the city ( Adelaide ) at least once a month , we travel for 50 km before getting to a township/ truck stop …. where we turn onto a major highway , being Highway 1

its 2 lanes each way with many many road trains on the Road …as well as normal semi trailers , cars , caravans ect ect ….. mostly all travelling
to ~ from Perth western Australia..or Darwin Northern Territory

We see many drivers eating while driving ( there’s a huge truck stop bakeries servo station fast foods ) at Port Wakefield ,which is about the 100 km ..mark from the city ….

So in a sense eating can be a distraction for drivers as well …how many have dropped something in our lap while eating / driving …I bet many of us have …
 
January said:
Of course don't do a detailed work conference or a detailed conversation when you are concentrating on the road- but short calls like Be there in 10 minutes, or Can you get milk on way home , are fine
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There is an incident of distracted driving in Ohio that looms large in our minds because the girl's father is a well known sportscaster who made it his mission to educate us. She drove into the back of a stopped truck and died because she had looked down to answer her phone. The message, from her friend was, "Hi."

Short calls can be deadly if they take your eyes off the road. Is it really necessary to tell people you'll be there in ten minutes?
 
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Texting, speaking and dialing, they are all distractions. There's only one benefit, if you can define it as a benefit, it keeps the emergency services employed. Driving needs constant attention, phones are a distraction, loss of attention can lead to loss of life. How some have the nerve to use their phone whilst being filmed on their dashcam, morons!
 
Tennessee has a law in place to ban hands free driving.

I am all for it, except people don’t adhere to it. We have enough moronic drivers in this state as it is.

The other big thing in this state is hit and run drivers. As I write this, there is a man in the hospital fighting for his life from a hit-and-run driver. It happens all the time, any place, including innocent, looking parking lots when you’re walking to your car from the grocery store. I wonder how many of those hit-and-run drivers were on their cell phones, I know that somewhere.

Hands Free TN
 
Undistracted driving is always best (No passenger, phone, children, pets, food or drink, radio, sightseeing, etc...).
However, as with many things in life, it's very important to know how to properly use a phone in a car (If that is one's choice), ..... and I don't mean technologically.

Pilots have a "Sterile cockpit rule". It means nothing happens in the cockpit under 10,000 ft that doesn't have to do with flying the plane. Taxi, takeoff, approach, and landing are solely focused on the task at hand (no chit-chat). Once you reach cruising altitude, you can talk about weekend plans or whatever.

IMO, the most important thing to know about using a hands-free phone in the car is timing. Risk isn't a fixed number. It depends a lot on driving conditions. If you are on a long uncrowded stretch of road, or stuck in gridlock, it is quite different than trying to survive on a busy freeway at 65 mph with lane changes and unexpected braking. Likewise, driving in heavy snow or at night is quite different from clear visibility. There is a time and place for everything. Knowing when to say no will serve a person better in life than learning a second language.
 

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