Forums → WEPR → Using a cellphone in a car

If you think I am going to pull over just to talk on my phone you are insane in the membrane. There shouldn't be a law to try and regulate people, the people should self-regulate them selves and their cell phone usage. In the world there are things known as "necessary evils" and that is one of them. I would suggest moving to Amish country and investing in a good horse with a BlueTooth unit if you are that concerned about it.

CALIFORNA IDC IT DOENT CONSEIRN ME.....[i]

Call me whatever you but, but it better not be stupid, ignorant, or suicidal.

I don't know what the fuss is. Seriously, there is almost NO difference between talking on the phone, and talking to someone in the back seat. Hands free doesn't make it any safer. I've been talking on the phone since I've started driving; no accidents, no tickets. Is it illegal in my state? Yes. Do I have a headset, yeah, now I do. Do I think it's useful? I would have the headset regardless, I just don't like holding a phone up to my ear.

But I don't understand the points people try to make. For example, you're distracted when you're talking on the phone. Sure, you are, but you're also distracted when you're talking to someone in the back seat, doing your makeup, eating a hamburger, etc. Secondly, for all the people who say, "you need both hands to drive". Screw that. When I did my driving test, I DID NOT do the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock had position, I did the WHATEVER I WAS COMFORTABLE WITH. How do I drive, well, it depends. Usually one hand on top (either one), or one hand on bottom (either one again), with the off hand on the shifter. Why? That's what I'm comfortable doing.

You want to know what the big problem is. TEXTING WHILE DRIVING! Here in southern California, I see more people texting while driving than talking while driving. You wanna know how hard that is. Either 1) try it on an empty street with a passenger in the car. When you're done sending your BFF a text, ask the passenger if you drove in a straight line. 2) while driving on an empty street, grab a newspaper. Read the first sentence of the newspaper while trying to type your home phone number blindly (without looking at the keys on your phone). When you think your done pull over. Now see if you got the number right. If you did good job. Now what did the first sentence say? Oh yeah, you probably missed that. And if you didn't, look how far you drove. You're probably down your street already, and that was 1 sentence and 1 phone number.

Yeah, that's the problem these days, texting while driving.

/rant

Want my opinion?
Dangerous,because imagine that you were in your car driving with your cellphone.
A kid shows up, and you ran over the kid.
What do you say to the police?"Sorry i was using my cellphone"????
No.
Wait until you get of the road and then talk.You can wait until you get home to talk.
Many people have been killed because of cellphones and driving drunk.
Thats all i have to say.

Thank you and have a nice day

I think u should be able to, but its against the law here in California now. You have to use bluetooth.

um it is not as dangerous as a i pod because then you are thinking of your music but it may be a important phone call too. Um I would say 20-and over should be able to have cell phones being used in the cars.

Sssssnnaakke, I don't think age plays a role here. By the way, would you want your 75 year old grandmother talking on a cell phone while driving? Didn't think so.

There was a Mythbusters (Its a TV show, google it) episode a while back where they investigated the myth that talking on a cellphone while driving is more dangerous than drunk driving. Turns out it is more dangerous. Of course, you can also drop a cellphone to control your car, you can't instantly become un-drunk. Either way, it destroys your reaction time.

Bottom line it is very dangerous and you shouldn't do it!

using a cellphone, smoking a cigarette, drunk driving, changing the cd in the cd player, are all dangerous things.

If you saw the episode of Mythbusters where they compared a cell phone to being drunk, you will know that neither of the two hosts were actually over the legal limit. Secondly, you will also note that the questions asked on the cell phone were canned. For instance, can you answer this WITHOUT driving and thinking too hard about it:

If you see a picture with a diamond, rectangle, and a circle, and the circle is to the right of the rectangle, and directly above the diamond, is the rectangle right above the diamond?

First, just below 0.08, and two of the drivers had not eaten that day. They ran the test after noon. That drastically increases the effects of alcohol. Also, that was the most difficult question asked, most were more in line with "list five things in the interior of your car." Not to mention all the tests were done under 30 mph. You shouldn't have any trouble changing lanes at 30 mph. They did.

No, its not a scientific study, but cellphones do reduce awareness and reaction time.

who cares at least its not you f you agree with me tell me on my profile!

It has already been banned in the UK for quite a while now and there has been a relatively large drop in the number of accidents. Also to answer some peoples qs is that the reason blu tooth hands free headsets are exempt is because of the human brain. This can only do so many things at once effectively. It can hold a conversation and drive a car well but not hold a phone and a conversation and drive a car well. Also having both hands on the wheel at all times is an obvious thing.

yeah crazjayz, my friend has been pulled over twice for suspected drunk driving because he was texting. you cannot type on your phone and keep enough concentration on the road. and if you can, then good job. but there are at least ten times as many people on the road who can't than those who can. same with talking on the phone while driving. some people can talk and pay attention at the same time, while at least ten times as many can't.

those people who can do it all complain about a law being made against using your phone while driving. well you're only as strong as your weakest link. those who can't are your weakest link. Sometimes the great must be punished for the mediocre.

over here in new jersey we have a law now that cops can finally pull you over for talking on the cell phone. before cops couldn't. They'd haved to pull you over for something else then write you up for it. I'm glad they did. So many people get in accidents while texting and talking on the phone. Even hand-free sets like bluetooths are dangerous because they distract you from the road. It's been proven that people with bluetooths or cellphones while driving have the reaction time of a drunk driver.