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The talking heads on TV here in California are once again jumping on the “driving while on the cell phone” bandwagon. This follows yet another frivolous study. This week’s epiphany came to the conclusion that people are four times more likely to get into an accident while using a cell phone than those people who drive phone free. Well all I can say to that is, Duh.
As if it required a group of statisticians to dig through the accident records at the DMV from the last year to figure that out. All you need to do is be in a car to come to that conclusion, especially in this area. As we here in the San Gabriel Valley know, most drivers can’t chew gum and drive at the same time. So attempting to talk on a handheld phone is a recipe for disaster.
Ever since the cell phone became part of our lives I have contended that they should not be used while driving. I don’t care how good of a driver you are, or think you are. Anytime you are doing anything behind the wheel, besides concentrating on your driving, your driving suffers. And when your driving suffers the suffering is passed along to everyone who comes across your automotive path.
Sure, in a lot of respects, cell phones are great and they have made all of our lives easier. In these days of escalating gas prices they have been a lifesaver, well a gas saver, for all of us parents who are on the move. With both kids having cell phones and having extracurricular activities, I figure the phones are saving us more than they are costing us just in the savings in time and gas.
As an example, just the other day my son had a summer league baseball game and my wife was driving to the field directly from work. The game was cancelled at the last minute and, through the modern marvel of the cell phone, we were able to divert her from making the trip to the field and instead go straight home. It was a simple thing, but something we wouldn’t have been able to do just a few years ago.
But with every silver lining comes a cloud. In this case the cloud would be the driving aspect of cell phone use. Many states have already adopted laws prohibiting the use of handheld cell phones while driving and it’s way past due for California to do so. To be completely honest, we should have been the first, but we have always been a little slower than the rest of the country when it comes to things like this. I guess it’s just that “laid back” California lifestyle that is always attributed to us.
While I appreciate the good things that having cell phones can do, the fact remains that I don’t like talking on the phone anytime, so I view having a cell phone with me all the time as a double-edged sword. Sure it’s great to be able to communicate with the entire family but when I am driving I hate it. If I have one of the kids in the car I make them answer it. If I am forced to pick up the phone while driving, I either make the call brief, basically answering yes or no, or pull over.
The study also pointed out that hands free phones are not much better because it still supplies a distraction while behind the wheel. So there may be a ban on all cell phone use in cars if the extremists get their way. To be honest, I think it is more dangerous for drivers when you can’t see the phone in the other driver’s hand. At least when you do, you can put on your defensive driving hat.
I don’t know about you, but when I see somebody on their cell phone in front of me, the first thing that goes through my mind is “I’ve got to get away from this idiot.” Because if you do stay behind them it will only be a matter of time before you see them start slowing down looking for an address or start drifting from their lane because they have only one hand on the wheel. As they say, the best offense is a good defense.
If they are driving with a hands free phone you don’t know if they are just the typical bad driver or if they are in the midst of closing some business deal or in the middle of an argument with their wife or kids. If they don’t ban cell phone use while driving altogether they should at least pass a law making cell phone users put a bumper sticker or one of those “Baby On Board” type signs in their back windows. It should say something like “I’m Partially Driving,” “I’m Not Stopped, I’m Just On Hold” or just “Warning: Inconsiderate Cell Phone User Behind The Wheel.”
Whatever they, they being the lawmakers, are going to do about this situation, I
wish they would do it soon. Not a day goes by when I don’t encounter some yahoo who is more interested in what the person on the other end of the line has to say as opposed to their fellow drivers.
This is one problem that is never going to get better. It will only get worse and I don’t need another frivolous study to tell me that.
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