Arguments about personal liberty notwithstanding, I have seen WAY too many drivers going down the road with cellphones glued to the sides of their heads, yakking away, babbling away, yelling, shouting, laughing, you name it, and they are BARELY paying attention to the operation of their vehicle and the traffic around them, they are either driving way too fast because their "in-flight conversation" has them aggravated, or they're driving way too slow because they're having a nice mellow mutual murmur with the object of their affections at the other end of the circuit.
The result? We have MORE traffic accidents and fatalities because unlike picking one's nose, unlike taking a drink from a cup of coffee, etc., using a cellphone (with the possible exception of handsfree models) requires as much (or in the cases of some drivers, MORE) concentration than it does to operate the motor vehicle itself.
Ask yourself how you would feel about your airline pilot on any commercial flight, talking away on a cellphone while transporting you from point A to point B at about 35,000 feet? You want him talking, or do you want him flying?
Just like a firearm, a motor vehicle is capable of unleashing vast death and destruction if it is not operated properly and with wisdom. When driving, it is our expectation as a society that drivers should be paying attention to what they're doing. You wanna talk on the damn phone? Pull over and talk on your cellphone, or go without a cellphone and use an old style payphone.
That's exactly what I do. I don't own a cellphone and I enjoy the uninterrupted peace and tranquility it brings.
And I pay 100 percent of my attention to driving when I'm behind the wheel.
Amen to that! ! !
But your analogy of a pilot at 35,000 feet talking is not accurate. The higher the altitude, the better. Further, when they're actually flying the aircraft, they're on the horn with air traffic controllers. On long flights, 90+% of flight time is auto-pilot.
BTW, it's usually very easy to spot a cell phone user. Just stay away from them.
"Ask yourself how you would feel about your airline pilot on any commercial flight, talking away on a cellphone while transporting you from point A to point B at about 35,000 feet? You want him talking, or do you want him flying?"
As a pilot I say your full of s**t!!!!
We don't use cell phones but are talking on the radio constantly, if we refused we would lose our licences.
1.http://www.statefarm.com/learning/be_safe/road/learning_besafe_ontheroad_cell.asp
Cell phone users were four to five times more likely to have crashes than non-users.
Cell phone units that allow the hands to be free offer no safety advantage over hand-held units.
2. As a former State Officer dealing with anywhere from one to three crashes a day:
a. In 2000, the State included these questions on the Collision Reporting Form..
1. Was there a cell phone in the car?
2. Was the Cell phone in use?
(Better not lie on this one. Plaintiff's attorneys subpoena your phone records--which have a time-stamp)
3. The issue becomes one of "Greater Negligence", both criminally and civilly.
If you kill someone due to your total attention being on a phone conversation, that puts you somewhere between manslaughter and 2nd degree murder.
If your car was broadsided by someone pulling out, and usually you would not be at fault, the issue now is "Were you so engaged that you missed a chance to avoid a collision?" Attorneys like to make "Contributorily negligent".
As do I. Be prepared to be accused of knowing that you are incompetent, thus being extra careful>
The delusional don't have a common-sense gene, and aren't really in a position to make judgements.
Top THAT, Scaredy Cat! </SARCASM>
Those that can, should be allowed to; those that can't... Ever heard of Darwin??