Questions about distracted driving.

[bobcat]

I think we can all agree that using a hand-held phone while driving is distracting, dangerous, and illegal.
Now with hands free talking via Bluetooth, it is legal, but still distracting.

Some studies conclude that it is more distracting than talking to a passenger in the car, even though it would seem there isn't much difference. It would also seem that with a passenger in the car you would occasionally look at them when talking, which wouldn't happen with hands free phone.

Then there is listening to a talk show on the radio, as that would appear to be distracting also.

How many of us have driven from one place to another on a familiar road, and our mind was off daydreaming. Isn't that distracted driving also?

How about drinking water or a soda? It seems there are only rare occasions anymore where there is 100% concentration on one's driving.

 

[Michael Z]

Depends on the situation. When roads are icy, I won’t even adjust the volume on the radio since any tiny swerve will put me in the ditch or worse. But even in a less trying situation, one should not be fooling around with a phone or anything else so as to take one’s eyes off the road.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I don’t eat, sleep, use the phone, radio,…

I just drive.

These days the majority of my driving is within a five mile radius of my home so it’s not a big sacrifice or inconvenience.

 

[MACKTEXAS]

Everything you mentioned is distracting, Bobcat. Also pets in the car jumping around, a crying child in a car seat, smoking. trying to reach for something that fell onto the floor of the car. Sometimes just an angry driver getting behind the wheel right after an argument is totally distracted. I think you might be displeased about some of the laws regulating cell phones, since you started with that. I don't get it either why cell phone users get singled out, but a hand held device is one one violation police can see, so it's more easily enforced than some of the other distracting activities.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

I don’t do much driving but my husband does.
He uses Bluetooth when wanting to talk to someone. It’s still a distraction but much better than using a hand held phone.

 

[bobcat]

Everything you mentioned is distracting, Bobcat. Also pets in the car jumping around, a crying child in a car seat, smoking. trying to reach for something that fell onto the floor of the car. Sometimes just an angry driver getting behind the wheel right after an argument is totally distracted. I think you might be displeased about some of the laws regulating cell phones, since you started with that. I don't get it either why cell phone users get singled out, but a hand held device is one one violation police can see, so it's more easily enforced than some of the other distracting activities.

Actually, I wasn't displeased about the laws with cell phones and driving. Maybe it just came across that way. I guess I was just wondering why using hands free talking would be more distracting than talking with a passenger or listening to talk radio.

Maybe the difference is just in very subtle degrees, and they are just categorizing in generalities. I don't know. I talk to my son often when he is on his way to work, but he has hands-free Bluetooth, and he is fine with it, but he has driven the route hundreds of times, so it's not like he has to think about directions.

I really don't know. If he wasn't talking to me, he would be listening to a podcast or talk radio, probably like many people do.

 

[rgp]

A friend of mine has a late model car, 2020 [I think] he says that the [touch-screen] controls are distracting. Much more so than the older knobs & such .

And it is needed for everything, radio, hands free phone, heat-A/C all of it.

He called me from the car once, I said I surprised .... he said oh no, I haven't left the parking lot.

 

[bobcat]

A friend of mine has a late model car, 2020 [I think] he says that the [touch-screen] controls are distracting. Much more so than the older knobs & such .

And it is needed for everything, radio, hands free phone, heat-A/C all of it.

He called me from the car once, I said I surprised .... he said oh no, I haven't left the parking lot.

Yes, I think in some instances, it could be more distracting. However, in most newer vehicles, you can answer a call right from the steering wheel, as well as radio operation, cabin temperature, sending or receiving a text, or even looking up a phone number from your contacts list and calling it. You can even verbally have your navigation find you an address and provide turn by turn instructions.

Pretty much anything can be done on newer, properly equipped vehicles right from the steering wheel or just using your voice. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you know how it all works, it is pretty amazing. Especially if you are in unfamiliar area, and in the past, one would have to be looking at a map, which would be very distracting. Once you use navigation on your vehicle, you are spoiled for life. I would feel confident driving literally anywhere with just an address.

 

[JustDave]

Looking at all the crap on my dashboard, because there is too much there to feel my way to. This one is major for me. It's when I am really aware of taking my eyes off the road. I could say I become hyper alert, but the fact is I'm still taking my eyes off the road. Only for a moment? A moment is still a moment.