SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic - Phone Usage while Driving

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

My wife regularly watches the Oprah show. She has informed me that Oprah has for the last few months tried to get as many people to sign a pledge regarding their cell phone usage habits while driving. Yesterday was a big day for Oprah's No Phone Zone program. She had several rally's across the country in various cities.

It seems that Oprah's plan is to try and get legal change to occur that would make hands free a requirement of phone usage while driving and texting and holding a phone to one's ear would be illegal in all states.

The claim is that interacting with the phone itself while driving is as dangerous as driving drunk. I don't know if this has been proven or not, but it is a scary fact if it is true since many more people use their phone while driving than drink and drive.

The pledge has three levels of commitment. Each is slightly more restrictive than the next. Here are the 3 options:

Quote:

I will not text while I am driving
I will not text while driving and will use only handsfree calling if I need to speak on the phone while I am driving.
I will not text or use my phone while I am driving. If I need to use my phone, I will pull over to a secure location.

http://www.oprah.com/questionaire/ipledge.html?id=4

I can definitely get behind the idea that texting while driving shouldn't be done under any circumstances.

Posted: May 01 2010 09:25 am

Isn't Oprah retiring soon? Doesn't that mean people have already stopped paying attention to what she says, no matter how smart it is?

UsaSatsui's Youtube Channel · Posted: May 01 2010 09:41 am

The problem is people who concentrate more on their phone call than on the road. You shouldn't be conducting important business or anything distracting on the phone.

When I use my phone in the car, and I need to pay attention to do something like turn or get off at an exit or deal with an asshole driver, I tell the person I'm talking to to hold on a moment, I deal with it, then I go back to the call.

Posted: May 01 2010 09:46 am

I think it's against the law in NY to talk on your cell phone while driving let alone text.

Joined: May 22 2008 Location: Goshen, VA Posts: 6544

If I'm in the car with someone who is driving and they pick up the phone to text or check a text, I'll make a note of it and calmly wait until we pull over to berate them. In extreme circumstances I will take a shit on the phone.

Posted: May 01 2010 11:16 am

It's illegal in BC. Jus' sayin'.

Posted: May 01 2010 11:50 am

GPFontaine wrote:

The claim is that interacting with the phone itself while driving is as dangerous as driving drunk. I don't know if this has been proven or not, but it is a scary fact if it is true since many more people use their phone while driving than drink and drive.

I know research has come out lately that claimed that texting while driving was more dangerous than driving while drunk or high. Not sure about just talking, hands-free or not. They had participants drive a course under three conditions: texting, drunk, and under the influence of marijuana. Texting delayed reactions up to 91% longer while texting, drinking delayed it be 12%, and weed delayed it by 21%. That's a big difference.

The most likely reason is that while you're drunk or high you are usually at least paying attention to the road, but your reflexes are slower. Texting, on the other hand, you might have your attention off the road for several seconds at a time, and if an obstacle appears or another car changes into your lane you may not notice it. You also tend to drift out the lane far more often.

Bottom line: texting while driving is fucking stupid. Why not just break out the newspaper, too?

Posted: May 01 2010 11:52 am

I only text and drive while I'm driving drunk, that way they cancel each other out.

Posted: May 01 2010 11:59 am

Just talking on the phone and driving isn't more dangerous than drunk driving, but texting definitely is. Just think about what's involved with each activity and how much more you're distracted when trying to type in letters and how little you're actually watching the road.

Driving while using a cell phone at all is illegal in California as well as 5 other states, and texting while driving is illegal in 24 states so far. Kind of scary that there are 26 states that see no problem with texting and driving at the same time.

Posted: May 01 2010 12:54 pm

Ross Rifle wrote:

It's illegal in BC. Jus' sayin'.

And most of Canada.

Posted: May 01 2010 01:03 pm

I'm pretty sure it's illegal here in WA, but I think you have to have been doing something else (running red lights, swerving out of the lines, waving your crank out the window) to get pulled over. Basically it's an extra tacked on offense in addition to whatever they stopped you for, but they can't stop you for it alone.

Posted: May 01 2010 01:10 pm

Blackout wrote:

I'm pretty sure it's illegal here in WA, but I think you have to have been doing something else (running red lights, swerving out of the lines, waving your crank out the window) to get pulled over. Basically it's an extra tacked on offense in addition to whatever they stopped you for, but they can't stop you for it alone.

Posted: May 02 2010 12:41 am

The first time I saw my sister do it, my jaw literally dropped. Can't they at the very least save that for red lights?

Posted: May 02 2010 01:58 am

It's illegal here in Oregon too. And hear, the cops don't need a pretext to pull you over and issue a ticket. The law went into effect at the beginning of this year. The cops hear in Portland pulled a lot of people over the first month and issued warnings just to let people know about the new law and that they were going to be enforcing it. Overall, put of all the laws in Oregon, I can't say I have a big problem with this one.

Posted: May 02 2010 02:31 am

The-Excel wrote:

The first time I saw my sister do it, my jaw literally dropped. Can't they at the very least save that for red lights?

What, wave her crank out the window? I thought she was your sister? WHAT!?

Posted: May 02 2010 07:36 am

Cpt. Fantastic wrote:

It's illegal here in Oregon too. And hear, the cops don't need a pretext to pull you over and issue a ticket. The law went into effect at the beginning of this year. The cops hear in Portland pulled a lot of people over the first month and issued warnings just to let people know about the new law and that they were going to be enforcing it. Overall, put of all the laws in Oregon, I can't say I have a big problem with this one.

The stat I gave above with texting while driving being illegal in 24 states, it is a primary offense in 19 of them which means you can be pulled over and cited for it. In the other 5 states, you have to be pulled over for another reason and the texting offense can then be tacked on top.

Here's where I got the info: http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html

Posted: May 02 2010 10:05 am

What about sexting and driving, is that ok?

Posted: May 02 2010 10:43 pm

Sexting is never okay.

2011 SNES Champ Joined: Dec 04 2006 Posts: 1929

Using a cell while driving has been illegal for about a year in Québec, and there have been talks of banning handsfree calls too, but I don't know what happened with that.

Only people like policemen, firefighters and stuff are allowed to do it, because usually their calls are actually urgent.

Posted: May 03 2010 10:42 am

Cpt. Fantastic wrote:

It's illegal here in Oregon too. And hear, the cops don't need a pretext to pull you over and issue a ticket. The law went into effect at the beginning of this year. The cops hear in Portland pulled a lot of people over the first month and issued warnings just to let people know about the new law and that they were going to be enforcing it. Overall, put of all the laws in Oregon, I can't say I have a big problem with this one.

Hey another Portlander, Woohoo! Yeah, the law's been in effect for 5 months now, but I still see every 3rd driver on the road with a phone attached to the side of their head.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

When I lived in Massachusetts there was a rule that drivers can use the cell phone while driving as long as it does not get in the way of the vehicle's operation and one hand is on the wheel at all times. However localities are allowed to create their own laws for cell phone usage. The only one that did was the one I lived in. Brookline, MA does not allow cell phone texting or hand held usage.

Now in CT there is a state law banning texting and hand held usage. I know a ton of people who have been pulled over for it. I barely ever text anyways, so texting while driving isn't something I would ever need or want to do. I do make regular calls while traveling, however I always use an ear piece or speaker phone.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/brookline/town_info/government/x254755962
http://www.statehighwaysafety.org/html/stateinfo/bystate/ct.html

Posted: May 03 2010 04:55 pm

phoenix outlawed texting while driving, but its still ok to talk on your cell phone even if you dont have a hands free device.

im not sure how they can prove you were texting and not answering a phone call though if you do get pulled over.