I’m all for safety. I’m all for logic. When someone purports a safety rule that flies in the face of logic and DATA- then I say “WTF?” That’s today’s (14 Dec 11) response.
Today (14 Dec 11), Deborah Hersman, Chairwoman of the NTSB issued a request to ban all cellphone device use in vehicles. Period. Whether one uses a hands-free device or not. Why? Because drivers can be distracted. What data did the NTSB employ to derive this recommendation: NONE!
“Oh, wait, Roy,” you will say. “They have plenty of data about accidents that are related to people using their cellphones.” No, they have plenty of data relating to people using cellular phones without hands-free connections. There is not much data regarding accidents and hands-free use, at all.
And, furthermore, these folks have derived this recommendation for a ban because most cellphones now are smartphones. Given those new capabilities, we could be tempted to text or surf the web while driving, instead of talking. I agree that we could be tempted by many things to do many things. One could be tempted to jump off the roof of a building, because one could- but most (almost all) wouldn’t. Or, I could drive my Mustang off a cliff in the Angeles National Forest trying to watch a meteor shower. (That’s a real headline from today’s (14 Dec 11) LA Times.) Will we now ban driving in national forests, to insure we won’t drive off cliffs?
There already are laws in 38 states barring texting while driving. (Come on, you other 12, what IS wrong with you? You have been excluded from this analysis, because you are simply beyond logic.) So, why ban hands-free devices? The real reason- the one to which the NTSB will not admit- is because it is hard for the police to prove you were texting, when you are pulled over. Since that can’t be easily proved, the NTSB wants to remove any and all chances you will text.
That is akin to saying we are going to bar you (pun intended) from drinking any alcohol anytime, because you may elect to drive drunk. Oh, wait, we tried that prohibition once before. How about considering a ban against using laptop computers? After all, you may forget and then use one in the bathtub, which can lead to an electrocution. Is that ban inane enough?
We allow the use of radios in the car. That means most people sing along with the tunes to which they listen or react to the idiots espousing various political opinions (including this NTSB proclomation). Radio use is allowed despite the fact that folks use dials and/or knobs, and look at the radio to see what station/song is playing. (By the way- that latter act is called texting!) What makes that diversion more or less dangerous than participating in a conversation that is hands-free?
Or, what about talking with your car mates? Is that less distracting that using hands-free conversations? Will we ban all use of vehicles with radios or disallow car/truck use with more than a solo passenger? Is that really how we can get everyone to pay attention when they drive?
Please, NTSB, regulations need to be based on logic and not your innate biases!
What’s next hands free slurpees?
Marie recently posted..Jingle All the Way
Marie:
Ssh… don’t give them any ideas….
Roy
Actually, most safety advocates were shaking their heads when governments first started talking about banning hand-held devices – precisely because it flew in the face of all the available data. This goes back a long way, because I have been out of that world for almost a decade now. But even then, they had data about various distractions, including a conversation with someone who is not in a vehicle.
The data showed that an external conversation resulted in much slower reaction times. To put it in the vernacular, when something happens up ahead, both driver and passenger react. They both pay attention. They both stop the conversation. When one of the callers was outside the vehicle, he obviously would not react to an event on the road, and the driver’s attention was on the conversation that would not stop immediately, rather than on the road.
Since most people have been forced to use only hands-free phones, something interesting can be expected (and I did see a report about some preliminary data on this a few months ago – exactly as I predicted). Unencumbered by the physical inconvenience of holding a phone, with both hands free to be kept on the wheel – and perhaps lulled into a false sense of security – people are engaging in longer discussions while driving. Which means more distractions – even if some people do put their phone hand back on the wheel, rather than use it to do a third thing (like search for data on the Internet, while they have the client on the phone?).
I don’t think I have seen any related crash data – too early for that , I suppose. But logic tells us that as most people have been moved from hands-on to hands-free, there will be more longer conversations (much more distractions) and more multi-tasking – three things instead of two.
You don’t need data for this – just look around you. Cell phone users running lights or hitting the breaks suddenly when they realize with a delayed reaction that the lights, the traffic ahead, a pedestrian or some other element of the road has changed. This is the danger – and it is never because the hand is occupied ; it is because the mind is occupied.
David @ Zoomit recently posted..Frugality and Spending: Dona4t Be Perfect
Actually, these are anecdotal.
Where is there ANY data that cell phone users (hands-free or otherwise) run lights more frequently than non-cellphone users? From the little data in my community (based upon photos of the drivers running the lights), I would say there is no distinction. the drivers who run red lighs are simply drivers who either are self-important or should have had their licenses removed long ago (because they are lousy drivers).
I do see cellphone users meandering in lanes (we don’t have a handsfree law in the Commonwealth). I also see other drivers combing their hair, putting on mascara, etc, that create havoc on our roads.
I have been using a cell phone for 30 years and counting. I did not have hands-free for the first 20 years- because they did not exist. But, I did use (to the consternation of my callers/callees) speakerphone. I am NOT using myself as an example, however. I am one of those who actually practiced how to throw a coffee cup safely in my car (not necessarily neatly) should I need to grab the wheel with both hands for emergency maneuvers, and has been arranging his mirrors to enable a potential 360 view for more than three decades.
Why don’t we just qualify drivers correctly. Insure that the can drive side roads and highways. That they can park their cars. (Geez- why do you have an SUV you can’t park?)
mmmm…slurpees…
hey Roy…award for thee…http://wp.me/p1jCKo-hl
Stuart Nager recently posted..The Annoyance of Time
Glad you like slurpees- didn’t think there were that many 7-11s in Westchester. Boy, how things have changed, Stuart.
I get more distracted by my kids and when I eat in the car than by my cell phone. I always park when I eat or take it home. And, well, the kids I just ignore. LOL.
~Allie
Allie recently posted..SwagBucks Toolbar, Your Door to More Swag
Thanks so much for your comment, Allie!
And, I, too, agree that wailing children, bickering children in the back seat- are all demanding attention. That attention will, hopefully, not deter us significantly from the attention needed to avoid the hazards of the road.
Roy
Nice post! Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much for your kind comment!