This is for all you folks that talk and drive.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95256794&ps=bb2

10/17/2008 10:18:39 AM

that was mostly common sense, but doesn't really apply to talking and driving. The real problem with phones in the car is dialing/texting while driving.

10/17/2008 10:25:37 AM

sure it does. anything that is taking your attention/concentration is going to destract from driving. i even notice it when i'm driving and talking on the phone (which i usually try to avoid)

10/17/2008 10:29:52 AM

^^ wrong, countless studies have shown that talking and driving is very hazardous.

I almost want to say its tantamount to drinking and driving, but I may be mixing it up with something else.

10/17/2008 10:32:39 AM

from the article:

Quote :

"You're not paying attention to one or two things simultaneously, but switching between them very rapidly"

when you're talking on the phone, whether it be hands free or not, you are still perfectly able to look at the road. when something on the road requires your attention you can switch your focus to deal with it.

when dialing, however, you are forced to look away from the road which completely removes your ability to react.

Quote :

"i even notice it when i'm driving and talking on the phone"

me too, I notice that i stop listening to a phone conversation when road conditions require my full attention....when you're looking away dialing, you don't even have an opportunity to react.

Quote :

"wrong, countless studies have shown that talking and driving is very hazardous"

then why is there a movement to ban hand-helds while driving, but not hands free? If it was simply the act of talking, it would be just as dangerous....not to mention just as dangerout to carry on a convo with a passenger that's physically there.

[Edited on October 17, 2008 at 10:36 AM. Reason : .]

10/17/2008 10:34:45 AM

Quote :

"when you're talking on the phone, whether it be hands free or not, you are still perfectly able to look at the road. when something on the road requires your attention you can switch your focus to deal with it."

i think you're making the false assumption that simply because you're using two separate and distinct senses that your reactions (attention) to the use, evaluation, and responses involving each sense are 100% simultaneous, which i truly don't believe it is (though how they would ever PROVE this empirically, i don't know)

Quote :

"when dialing, however, you are forced to look away from the road which completely removes your ability to react."

by your assertion above, all i'd have to say is that i can text without looking at the keypad because i know my pad by touch...since touch is different than vision, your reasoning says that i can do both at the same time and devote all of my attention to each simultaneously

Quote :

"me too, I notice that i stop listening to a phone conversation when road conditions require my full attention....when you're looking away dialing, you don't even have an opportunity to react."

perhaps you devote MORE of your attention (or the time you dedicate to the task, rather) when road conditions require you to pay more attention, but to say that you completely devote 100% of your entire conscious and subconscious thought to the act of driving is out-and-out wrong...and if it's wrong, then you're introducing a distraction to paying attention to driving...and no matter how good you are, ANY distraction introduces a more hazardous situation

additionally, just because you think you're perfectly capable of driving and talking simultaneously and being able to successfully dedicate attention to driving when necessary does not mean that the vast majority of others are capable of this, and so you have to cater to the lowest common denominator when the safety of others is to be considered

Quote :

"then why is there a movement to ban hand-helds while driving, but not hands free? If it was simply the act of talking, it would be just as dangerous....not to mention just as dangerout to carry on a convo with a passenger that's physically there."

there is a movement to ban hand-helds because they are HAND-HELD...in addition to the distraction provided by attempting to carry on a conversation, a hand-held device (usually) requires that the person remove one hand from the wheel to hold the phone...assuming it would be nearly impossible to completely ban in-car telephone conversations, the goal is to at least minimize the number of distractions while driving, thereby creating a safer driving environment for everyone

and i agree with you in that, technically, carrying on a conversation with another person who is physically in the car carries the same (relative) level of distraction, in that you must dedicate a portion of your attention to evaluating what they're saying and then formulating a reply

10/17/2008 11:54:37 AM

moron: Multitasking In The Car: Just Like Drunken Driving - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95702512

I found that looking for something to support a bit I saw on TV a while ago that said for most people driving while talking or listening to the radio isn't a problem because they use separate areas of your brain. But I couldn't find that, and I found a lot of articles like this one ...

10/17/2008 12:08:50 PM

i've nearly drifted out of my lane while trying to text before. it's stupid to text while hte car is moving. I generally wait until I am stopped to text if it is necessary.

10/17/2008 12:34:31 PM

Quote :

"then why is there a movement to ban hand-helds while driving, but not hands free? If it was simply the act of talking, it would be just as dangerous....not to mention just as dangerout to carry on a convo with a passenger that's physically there."

The movement to ban phone talking but allow handsfree is misguided, feel-good legislation. IIRC, hands-free is marginally less troublesome, but still more dangerous than just driving normally.

10/17/2008 12:46:54 PM

So we shouldn't talk to passengers either?

10/17/2008 1:03:54 PM

Mythbusters did it

10/17/2008 1:23:34 PM

Quote :

"by your assertion above, all i'd have to say is that i can text without looking at the keypad because i know my pad by touch...since touch is different than vision, your reasoning says that i can do both at the same time and devote all of my attention to each simultaneously"

from the info in the article:

Quote :

"You're not paying attention to one or two things simultaneously, but switching between them very rapidly"

I'm simply saying that doing anything that allows you to keep your eyes on the road allows you to see danger and "switch" to deal with that danger, while another activity that requires you to actually look away from the road may eliminate the opportunity to see the danger in the first place....point being, merely talking in itself doesn't eliminate your alertness/ability to react. If you can text w/o ever looking away, then its the same deal.

however I can see your point with:

Quote :

"additionally, just because you think you're perfectly capable of driving and talking simultaneously and being able to successfully dedicate attention to driving when necessary does not mean that the vast majority of others are capable of this, and so you have to cater to the lowest common denominator when the safety of others is to be considered"

10/17/2008 1:26:42 PM

i talking is like listening to music - doesn't affect my driving unless i'm in a busy city or a small village and have to respond to audible stimuli. dialing/texting does interfere with my visual stimuli and affects my driving.

i've found women to be less attentive when on the phone while driving.

the other day i saw a middle aged asian woman on the phone, while driving a chevy suburban assault land yacht and i thought to myself - 'oh shit if the financial metldown and the large hadron collider don't end the world, this surely will'

10/17/2008 1:27:44 PM

I do notice that talking on the phone is distracting, but no more than just talking with a passenger. Holding any conversation tends to distract my consciousness away from driving. But luckily, some unconcious part of my brain keeps my eyes on the road and driving the car, just stupidly. All it does is keep it between the lines and not hit the car in front of me. What my brain fails to do is anything more complex than that, such as changing lanes to avoid traffic or follow directions, so every now and then my unconcious driving self wakes up my concious self (core dumping the conversation) and forcing me to conciously get the car back on its proper course before asking like an idiot "what were we talking about?" or worse, "was that our turn?"

But I've never noticed this behavior when I was just listenning, such as to a podcast. Although when heavily engaged, such as navigating a complex intesection or avoiding danger I will discover my brain simply stopped listenning and I'm forced to rewind a bit to hear what I missed.

Surely there is someone else here that has noticed themselves doing this. Otherwise I guess I'm retarded.

[Edited on October 17, 2008 at 2:45 PM. Reason : tn]

10/17/2008 2:43:48 PM

^ It has been pointed out in another thread on this issue, that when you're talking to others in your car, it's different that someone on the phone, because when they're in your car, they're also going to be making sure you're not screwing up the driving, because their life is on the line too.

But, I guess it just reinforces the idea that anything that breaks your concentration while driving (which trying to hold a conversation of any kind does for most people), is going to make you a bad driver.

10/17/2008 3:53:19 PM

thats fuckin stupid dude, the last thing you want to do is depend on someone elses judgement


PLEASE come up with a better reasoning/excuse than that

10/17/2008 4:00:25 PM

women can't drive

10/17/2008 4:07:44 PM

Mythbusters did it.

10/18/2008 8:12:07 PM

I think drumming (on a set) is multitasking because I sure as hell cant keep 4 different rhythms with 4 different limbs

10/18/2008 8:33:09 PM