Safety Council Calls for Cell Phone Ban
So the National Safety Council wants to ban cell phone use in cars. Not just the use of the hand-held device, but bluetooth, non-hand-held devices as well.
Safety Council Calls For Cell Phone Ban
So talking on a cell phone while driving is bad, because you are not concentrating on the road. I do not think anyone disagrees with this. The article says that talking on a hands-free device makes you four times more likely to crash.
“Everybody agrees with this study or report that cell phone use
completely should be banned because it’s more of a mental thing. You’re
not concentrating on driving.”
So it is about not concentrating on driving. Hmmm, well what about talking to others in the car. You know having a verbal conversation with others while driving. If I am using a hands-free device to talk, such as a speaker phone built into the car or a bluetooth ear piece — how is that any different? Are they going to ban anything that distracts the driver from concentrating on driving. What about music? What about eating and drinking in the car? If we are going to ban one, we should ban them all.
I am typically against any paternalistic laws, but I can see the logic and restricting the use of hand-held cell phone use. You only have one hand to drive. However, banning the use of hand-free devices is going a bit too far.
I agree that the use of Cell phones should be ban this is in many countries now but banning hands free devices is going to far.
Also back in the UK when they banned Cell phone driving they also band eating and drinking.
Before they go crazy and ban the use of hands free devices maybe they should be banning the use of cell phones use for SMS text messages and reading email. In IL it is only illegal to use your cell phone for SMS and email if you are under 18 this to me is crazy.
Come to think of it every time I drive to Chicago I see women doing there makeup and people readying the Newspaper all while driving in heavy traffic, I think both of these are far worse than driving while using a headset, yet no one ever says anything
I completely agree with the NSC’s proposed ban… and if you read their full release about the study and the article in the New York Times yesterday, they explain the studies and why even a hands free device is more of a distraction.
next time you sit at a traffic light, watch the cars turning into the street you are on. Make a point of watching the faces of the drivers coming at you. Note how the drivers with headsets and or handheld phones even look like they are not focused.
it’s scary!
I’m 100% behind the ban.
Great minds think alike! I blogged about the same topic today. http://tinyurl.com/8c2xf3