Surely it is safer than loking at the person sitting in the car who is speaking to you as many women do.
I tried to report a dangerous driver and all I got was earache about driving and using a phone and I was the passenger!.
Surely it is composing text messages, or dialling which is dangerous.
2006-10-30 21:53:33 · 15 answers · asked by "Call me Dave" 5 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Safety
I don't believe they are any more dangerous than people tuning their radio's, reading paper's, putting on makeup, or getting onto their kids in the back seat's. Any distractions in a motor vehicle is dangerous.
2006-11-02 07:01:31 · answer #1 · answered by Iam!! 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Essentially it's because it means you're not concentrating fully on driving. There are many common things which can distract the driver of a vehicle but mobile phones have been proven to be the worst. If you imagine going through a busy road junction, any passenger in a car will sense the additional danger and probably stop talking, or at least give you time to deal with the situation. And no driver with half a brain is going to try and find a cd or tune in the radio in that situation. But if you're on the phone, the caller has no idea what you're doing, and human nature is for the driver to not be rude and keep talking, or at least listening. It’s not just holding the phone, it's the fact that you're actively concentrating on something else, which isn't the same as listening to tunes etc. - that's generally a passive activity.
This is why the law was changed to make it illegal, although in reality drivers were occasionally prosecuted anyway for dangerous driving or failing to have adequate control of their vehicle.
I've seen a safety study (RoSPA I think) involving three drivers driving at speed round a deserted airfield - one without any distraction, one on the phone and one well over the drink-drive limit. The passenger in each car gave the driver a series of instructions - making turns, emergency stops and tight manoeuvres etc. Believe it or not the drunk driver came second, not third. Scary stuff.
I guess you got chewed out for making the call because that could have put the driver off? But you’re right, it’s the people that make calls (and especially text) that should be pulled over and slapped… if this law had come sooner, I might not have been sitting at a junction on my motorbike when a speeding muppet in an XR3 - who thought it was more important to chat to mates than to look where he was going - drove straight into the side of me. Fortunately I went over the car, my bike went under it...
2006-10-31 00:15:15 · answer #2 · answered by frenziedmonkey 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The thing is it is a dangerous thing to do for all the already mentioned reasons. So is looking at you passenger, tuning the radio and lots of other things. However, using a phone is easier to prove I suppose. I'm sure if you caused an accident whilst not looking at the road you would be prosecuted provided there was proof. Strangely I am allowed to use a fist mic to talk to some one on the radio, although I wouldn't do that. In the event of an accident though it would be counted as without care and attention.
2006-10-31 23:26:47 · answer #3 · answered by g4vkeuk02 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Talking on the telephone while driving should be against the law. As well as putting on make-up or stuffing your mouth with burgers, or shaving, or anything that takes your concentration away from the road in front of you. Until you are in a horrific accident you cannot begin to realize how important it is to pay attention.
2006-10-30 22:36:25 · answer #4 · answered by dewhatulike 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It isn't.
Fiddling with the radio tuner, looking at the satnav display, talking to your passenger, yelling at the kids in the back seat or glancing at the fuel gauge are all as dangerous. They had to pick on something so chose the one thing that we like to use the best. They may as well ban anything that takes your eyes off the road and make us use a single seat machine with no dashboard or instruments. A bicycle, in fact.
2006-10-30 21:59:36 · answer #5 · answered by superman in disguise 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Some people are not coordinated enough to do both.. They don't pay attention to the road and than all the rest of us are at risk.. I think NY was smart in making people wear the wireless equip. And obviously they did it for a reason.. there were just too many accidents
2006-10-30 23:25:03 · answer #6 · answered by Kat0312 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The reason is cause most people that drive and use cell phones at the same time get distracted easily and get in accidents when they mostly pay attention the the call and not the road.
2006-10-30 21:58:19 · answer #7 · answered by ? 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Most people can't operate a vehicle with two hands on the wheel much less one. Mostly, it's the reaching and pushing the tiny buttons to answer the phone that's the problem. You also get cited for putting on lipstick, using your laptop, and shaving.
2006-10-30 21:59:32 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
A lot of people tend to ignore everything but the call they are on when using the phone that's what makes it so dangerous.
2006-10-30 21:56:25 · answer #9 · answered by ezachowski 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Why did You report the dangerous driver? Leave that to the descretion of the driver.
2006-10-31 02:56:34 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋