Cell Phones While Driving

[Ash]

Earlier when I went to lunch I was nearly hit by a guy driving with a cell phone up to his ear.
I was in the left lane and he was in the right.  He started swerving over into my lane and almost rubbed up against my car.
I cursed him out loud pretty good and when I pulled up next to him and gave him a dirty look, sure enough, he had a phone up to his ear.

(I imagine myself forcing him off the road, running up and yanking him out of the car, punching him in the gut, slapping him around a bit and throwing his phone to the ground.  I would then proceed to stomp his phone into oblivion on the asphalt.
Or I would throw it out into traffic and let a semi run over it.   )

Needless to say, driving and using a cell at the same time is downright dangerous.  Especially if the person using it is texting, which I've heard is technically worse than driving drunk.
I believe that states should outlaw the use of a phone while driving and heavy fines imposed.  No $50-$100 fine.  I'm talking $500-$1000 fines.
Some states already have laws in force but I've heard they're pretty tame.

I almost never use mine while driving.  The one exception is if I'm in extremely light to no traffic.  It definitely does not get used if I'm driving at high speed like on the highway etc...

What about you?
What do you personally think about using a phone while driving?

[Patient7]

Never have, if I'm driving on a pretty much deserted road then MAYBE and after it's legal for me to do so in Illinois.  It's just a stupid move to talk on your phone while driving, unless you have one of those hands free ones, and in that case, it's still smarter to only use that when necessary.

[ghouck]

People that talk on their pehone while driving should be dragged from their cars, beaten, and sodomized with the bore-brush from a 105mm Howitzer, and have any wounds received from THAT treated with tobasco sauce. That's just me though. . 

[indianasmith]

I live in the country, and tend to travel lightly used roads . . . . and I use my phone a LOT.  Takes the boredom out of long drives and keeps me awake.

[Menard]

Why...heck yeah...I use my cellphone while driving. I can't wait to get to the car, get out on the road, and start calling everybody I know.

I don't have a landline, so my cellphone is my only phone. It is primarily used for work, though it's my personal phone. I get calls while I am on the road, and I usually answer them; usually it's about work, but I don't get calls all the time.

I am an astute driver who has driven well in excess of a million miles without an accident, as I am pedantic about putting the road, and primarily other drivers, first. If I feel that a call is going to distract me, though it is uncommon, I will either call them back when I get somewhere, or find a place to pull over.

Most everybody I know with a cellphone uses it while driving. Many of them will claim to rarely use it behind the wheel. Seems like rarely comes along a lot more often than I thought the term would suggest.

People who blow through lights, miss turns, or even get into accidents while using the cellphone are likely to do the very same thing without the cellphone (I said 'likely', not 'guaranteed'). Whether it is the radio, eating, or just day dreaming, their attention will be on something else because that's just the way that they are; they can't pay attention.

[Jack]

I don't own a cell phone.  My dad was sitting at a red light once and was lucky enough to get rear ended by a guy who was too busy talking on his phone to pay attention. 

[Derf]

People that talk on their pehone while driving should be dragged from their cars, beaten, and sodomized with the bore-brush from a 105mm Howitzer, and have any wounds received from THAT treated with tobasco sauce. That's just me though. . 

Oooh, how YOU doin', sailor? 

Actually, I do talk on my cell phone when I drive, but never in heavy traffic. I am usually on for just a minute or two, letting someone (usually my wife) know where I am and where I am headed. If traffic is at all heavy, or if I'm on unfamiliar roads or roads with a lot of twists/turns, I don't use it. The roads I usually use, however, are either backroads or highways in non-rush-hour traffic, so there are seldom any cars around me.

[Menard]

The roads I usually use, however, are either backroads or highways in non-rush-hour traffic, so there are seldom any cars around me.

Reminds me of part of a comedy routine of a comedian (er...1981? on the Improv broadcast) who was complaining about people who would stop at the bottom of a merge lane, and if asked why, they would say 'well, there might be cars coming'. He would respond with 'of course there will be cars coming...it's a FREEWAY!!!'.

Now I don't know where some of you all drive where all of these roads are empty, but I use highways and there are always cars somewhere around. I also suspect that at least a few of these cars have drivers; just a guess, though.

Yep, I use my cellphone on the highway; and of all the dang strange coincidences, there are cars on these highways.

[dean]

Personally if you have an automatic transmission and half a brain, I don't see it being too bad, as long as you're not trying to run a rally course or something.  I don't see it being much different to talking to your friend in the car.


BUT

I've noticed however that most people are idiots, and therefore its best to not talk on the phone.

Luckily for us in this country it's illegal to talk on the phone whilst driving.  Sure it doesn't stop people but the deterrence is there.  Well at least, talking on one without a handsfree kit or something like that [that is, using one hand to hold the phone to your skull!]

I myself had the pleasure of getting fined for talking on my phone whilst driving and I very very rarely have since.  In my defense I answered my phone whilst I was stationary at a red light, so the danger levels are hardly high, but I didn't fight the fine since the law's the law, and I'm not one to fight if I'm clearly in the wrong.

So yeah, I make a point not to do it anymore, but personally I don't think it's that unsafe IF you are able to pay attention and are actually capable of doing two things at once.  If video games taught me anything it's that...

[Jack]

Kind of funny, people used to have those "baby on board" signs in their windows, apparently you were supposed to use special caution when driving near them because they were carrying such precious cargo.  Well, those people all drove like sh!t.  Somebody pull out in front of you?  Baby on board.  Change lanes causing you to slam on the brakes?  Baby on board.  Etc.

Sorry, something in Dean's post made me think of that 

[schmendrik]

I'm afraid I must admit to taking calls when my cell phone rings while driving, from family at least. I try to be very conscientious about focusing on driving and my surroundings, not on the conversation, and I also try to let people know I'm driving and to keep it short. But yes, I'm one of those who some of you want to do violent things to I guess.

I heard one report (2nd hand, haven't seen it myself in any news coverage) that the terrible commuter train/freight train wreck in LA a week or two ago was caused by the commuter train engineer missing a stop signal because he was texting. As he died in the wreck, we can't punish him for that one if true.

Kind of funny, people used to have those "baby on board" signs in their windows, apparently you were supposed to use special caution when driving near them because they were carrying such precious cargo.  Well, those people all drove like sh!t.  Somebody pull out in front of you?  Baby on board.  Change lanes causing you to slam on the brakes?  Baby on board.  Etc.

My observation is that these days it's the SUVs. When I see one near me in traffic (or worse, in a parking lot), I'm ready for them to do something crazy, dangerous and aggressive. And I'm rarely disappointed.

What ever happened to those signs? Do people not have babies on board anymore?

[ghouck]

I heard one report (2nd hand, haven't seen it myself in any news coverage) that the terrible commuter train/freight train wreck in LA a week or two ago was caused by the commuter train engineer missing a stop signal because he was texting. As he died in the wreck, we can't punish him for that one if true.

No, but we can punish his estate!