Oh smart phones! How I love thee! You’re everything I ever wanted a handheld device to be. You’re a cell phone, music player, camera, video screen, mini-computer, and best friend. Is there anything you can’t do? Maybe that’s the problem.
These little pocket genies are just so convenient and handy we want to use them all the time. Hell, they’re not just a good way to augment the conversation: they are the conversation—at least in my circle of friends. It seems everyone has an iPhone or some other super phone these days. I’m jealous with iEnvy every time people tell me about a new app on their phone that makes life more worth living.
But not everyone is so fond of the pervasiveness of these handheld units. The government of B.C. is contemplating a ban on using cell phones while driving. It sounds like a no brainer, but think to yourself about how many times you’ve talked on the phone while steering your vehicle around a corner, or worse yet, read a text message.
Not having a car myself, I asked someone I know who I’ve seen use a smart phone while driving about this habit. He doesn’t want to be identified (he knows it’s frowned upon), so let’s just call him “H”, shall we?
H has an iPhone, and he loves it. When asked whether or not he texts while driving, he responded, “Yes, a lot. I’ve got like 2500 free texts messages, so I use the text function a lot more than calling.”
I asked him if he thinks it’s distracting to text while driving, he enthusiastically replied, “Absolutely, I’m positive that it’s distracting. I only throw a glance at my phone at most. If I have to read something or focus, I pull over.”
What do you think about the idea of banning the use of cell phones while driving, was the next question I asked (while I pondered how he could spell words properly while navigating the road). To which H said,
“I think it’s a great idea. It’s so easy to text while driving when it’s allowed. If they made it illegal, I’d think twice about doing it. But car companies are making cell phone use in vehicles easier.
Now you don’t have to look anywhere to use your phone because the controls are on your steering wheel, and the sound is coming out through your stereo. The more laws you have against looking at your phone, the better car manufacturers will integrate your phone with your car.”
From H’s responses, I took two themes: using your cell phone, including texting with it, is bad, and we shouldn’t do it, and laws might help us stop. However, since car makers are making it so easy to use your phone these days, maybe using your phone with hands free isn’t as bad as holding the phone while driving.
This raises an interesting question: is it the physical phone being used while driving that’s the problem, or is it the distraction it causes while driving tons of metal down the road that’s wrong, or is it both, or neither?
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Even if cellphone use becomes hands free in the car, it still distracts the driver from what he/she should be doing…DRIVING!
If your’re in a car driving that should be the only thing your doing, one little mistake could ruin your life, or worse someone else’s.
Ban it already!
“I don’t know but I wish people would stop trying to right-turn over me while they’re looking at the phone.”
definitely the physical act of texting while driving is a dangerous distraction as it takes your eyes off the road and hands off the steering wheel. I guess it’s a fine line though if car manufacturers made it easier to text/talk while driving – i guess at what point do you draw the line for loud music, talking in the car, etc?
99% the physical. We don’t have to talk about banning conversation with regular passengers, do we?
Hello Ben,
No, we don’t have to talk about banning conversation with regular passengers, or music, etc.
The research shows that passengers actually either stop talking when a hazard is approaching or they help the driver if he/she has not seen it. On a cell phone (hand-held or hands-free), the person on the line is unaware of the driving circumstances. Music and others talking in the car is more like background noise and does not take the driver’s mind off the task at hand – driving safely.
Great conversation! Here’s a great video game that a community member told me about that shows just how hard it could be text while drive. http://tiny.cc/bMLxv
Texting while driving is really bad karma. You might as well put a blindfold on and take your hands off the wheels! This activity was brilliantly documented in a recent PSA out of the UK…”Texting While Driving PSA” on You Tube.
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