Posted on 02/25/2007 8:36:32 AM PST by jazusamo
It's against the law in New York [one of the few laws of the kind I agree with], except it allows a "hands free" exception [which is stupid, but hey, it's New York]. Unfortunately, the law is not enforced. I see idiots on the road all day yacking away at 65 mph.
I've seen drivers text messaging, while pretending to drive.
I agree wholeheartedly with him.
Hiya, jaz! Agree completely.
Some folks here are for more laws, as long as they are their kind of laws...
I drive and talk all the time and have done so for a decade or more with no incidents or close calls. I have some level of sympathy for those people who would like to ban the practice, as I've seen more drivers going 55 in the fast lane seemingly b/c they were too engaged in conversation to pay attention, and a fair amount of swerving. I wish people were smarter and realized that talking on the phone was, at best, their second priority while driving. But come on, you can't illegalize stupidity.
Why are hands-free setups stupid?
I'm kind of mixed on this one. I know I shouldn't drive and cell phone but my ex-girlfriend seemed to do it with ease.
Maybe if I was a heart surgeon or president of the United States, I'd feel differently. But as important as I may think my job is, people who want to reach me are just going to have to cool their heels every now and then.
I've been told the owner of the company I work for does CW (morse) while driving but I've never actually seen him do it so it might be a joke.
Obviously you never worked in Mission Control. :-) LOL!
To me, the problem is someone driving who is [in theory] trying to concentrate on the conversation he/she is engaged in while trying [hopefully] to concentrate on their driving. A handset is an additional distraction, but the conversation is the key problem [IMO].
Good for you. But I don't. I drive while talking on my cell and I have never been pulled over. I asked my neighbor (a police officer) about it and he said that it wasn't worth a cop's time for something so petty. So I (and MANY others) will keep on talking, and no one is going to do a thing about it. Can we discuss more serious stuff?
I couldn't agree with you more, I don't even have a cell phone. My kids and grandkids think I'm living in the dark ages but if anyone wants to talk to me they can call me when I'm home.
This is likely no joke. Mobile CW used to be pretty popular. Some guys even drive 5-spds with the paddles hooked up next to the shifter. Sending accurately in that environment has to be very difficult.
"I yield to no man in my devotion to multitasking or my aversion to government poking its nanny-state snout into my business, OK?"
But apparently he does. Reinhard is the Oregonian's sorry excuse for a conservative columnist. Most of the time he's just right of center enough to annoy liberals but never to do right by the right. He's useless
So a ban on passengers engaging the driver in conversation would be ok with you?
It would be more than fine with me but my wife would not like it AT ALL.
FWIW, I see the one-handed driving as the problem. I have a great deal of experience with designing, installing and using many different types of hands-free systems and believe that one that is properly designed and configured creates no undue distraction for the driver....IMO.
Unfortunatley, 99% of drivers don't use them or don't want to take the time to set one up. Too bad, because a properly designed system is a real joy.
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