Countless instances occur where people are simply not paying attention to driving while talking on their cell phone, in turn, creating dangerous situations for us all. Should laws be passed banning cell phone use in cars or should we requireautomakers to add hands-free technology to their latest models?
I consider it a joy to be able to call and catch up with friends while stuck in rush hours traffic. There are currently laws for reckless driving and if someone were to create a dangerous situation while on the phone, they should be charged accordingly.
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It's time for automakers to work harder to simplify the use of hands-free technologies by further integrating them into today's automobiles. I'll pay for the added expense as long as the streets are safer.
15 comment(s) so far
idesignthinks: I think it's up to auto and cell phone makers to create products that are safer to use. This would involves creating products that are incredibly intuitive and have very simple interfaces that won't take your attention away from the road. It might be as simple as bluetooth, but even then I believe some sort of voice recognition should be a part of the overall technology.
itssimplethinks: I don't see why I should have to pay for extras on my car that I don't need. It wouldn't simplify my life to have that added technology. I rarely talk on my cell phone while in my car. I think people need to pay more attention and realize that they are responsible for their own actions.
JBonninthinks: The fact is that people won´t stop using phones while driving. Therefore, cell phone and auto companies shall both take responsibilities about it and develop safer equipment.
mushithinks: Handsfree or not: it is the conversation itself that is distracting, comparable to the use of a dictaphone while driving. A complicating factor is that the party at the other end of the line is not aware of the traffic situation, as opposed to passangers in the car, who stop talking when the situation calls for the driver's full attention.
donnamthinks: I definitely think that there should be more of a push to integrate hands-free into the car itself and for cell phone companies to make it so that any make of phone will work on your car's hands-free system. I disagree that it's always the conversation that's distracting. I think it can be, but also it has to do with driving one handed or trying to answer the phone while turning down the radio and changing lanes and doing other things. I find myself able to have a simple chat with a friend using my ear piece and still be able to give my full attention to the road.
Geek1thinks: I agree with mushi. There's a bigger human behavior issue to this. It's about being distracted from what you are doing. Driving a car requires focus and concentration which is taken away when talking on the phone. I don't think it should be outlawed. We just need new technologies that allow a peron to concentrate on either the cell phone or driving and not both.
trickyskillsthinks: I've been stopped by the police for having headphones on whilst cycling. Am I really going to inflict as much damage as some fool driving whilst using the phone?
nicochanthinks: It's not an opinion that conversation itself is disctracting; it's a fact. Conversation uses the same area of the brain that one uses for driving an automobile. We've known this for many years, yet people are so focused on making hands free devices standard in vehicles because they are "safer," but in fact they are not. "The study ... found that cellular units allowing hands-free operation offered no safety advantage over hand-held units." (University of Toronto, "Association Between Cellular-Telephone Calls and Motor Vehicle Collisions," New England Journal of Medicine, February 1997).
MDTthinks: Agreed that simply not talking on the phone is the easiest solution, but people will find other distactions while driving including eating, putting on make-up, and even reading. The true solution to all this will come years from now when you'll place your destination in your car's GPS and it will drive you there on it's own. In the meantime, we'll have to live with it. It may be illegal in New York City to talk on a cell phone while driving, but you're not going to tell someone in rural Nebraska to do the same.
