Feds urge cell-phone ban for teen drivers

[Thom Little]

Traffic safety experts say cell phones and teens are becoming an increasingly dangerous combination on the highway, and now the National Transportation Safety Board is urging states to ban cell phone use by drivers younger than 18.

"We know that when you're learning a skill, you should not be distracted while you are doing it," said Mark Rosenker, acting chairman of the safety board. "Anything that takes away from the total focus of learning how to drive is a distraction."

Cells phones -- which have been banned in cars in some states because they distract the driver -- are popular with Washoe County teens. A Reno Gazette-Journal survey conducted five months ago found that more than 90 percent of the 400 teen drivers interviewed said they have driven while talking on one. Females do it more frequently than males, the survey found.

.......

Eleven states and the District of Columbia have put limits on teens using cell phones while they drive. At least 11 other states have considered such laws, including Michigan, which is poised to ban cell-phone use by drivers younger than 18.



http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051121/NEWS10/511210334/1002

[LostinVA]

1. They should be a ban for ALL drivers

Literally, I almost get hit several times a day by morans driving while talking on their cells. The stuff they do is so erratic, stupid, and dangerous... I guess it's kinda hard to drive RIGHT when your hand is full and your mind is somewhere else. Pull over, people. I don't even play music loud in the car because of the distraction.

[pinniped]

4. And many times these knuckleheads don't even know they almost...

sent you away in a twisted metal coffin.

Enough is enough.

[TheCowsCameHome]

5. Just ban the damn things - I saw a woman change lanes while

trying to light a cigarette and yak on the phone at the same time. Typical stupid driver doing everything but pay attention to driving.

[meow2u3]

18. That idiot ought to go back to the flea market

and get a new copy of her driver's license.

[booksenkatz]

17. I've been smacked into physically while walking in the grocery store

by people who are mindlessly engaged in cell phone conversations as they hurry through the store as if they are the only people in it. They have no idea that they even smacked into me, they just keep going. If they can't even pay attention while walking in a store and using a cell phone, then I certainly don't trust them to manage it while driving!

[pinniped]

2. F that, ban ALL c-phone talkers/drivers.

Everyone has a story about careless c-phone driver aholes almost running them off the road.

It's only a matter of time until an outright ban takes place.

[bluestateguy]

3. States should do that, not the feds

And none of this shit like the way the feds give the states the "choice" of having whatever drinking age they want. Of course, the age must be 21, if they want federal highway money, but please, by all means, set the drinking age at whatever you like. :eyes:

That's what I call duplicitous federalism.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

6. Like the "open can" law,

if anyone in a car has a cell phone that's turned on, the driver should be busted.

They all should be busted.

[bicentennial_baby]

7. uh, why?

How does someone else in the car talking on the phone make the driver's driving less safe? How is it different than people other than the driver just having a conversation in the car?

[OldLeftieLawyer]

9. On the same principle as the open can law

There's an implied responsibility. People having conversations in cars don't end up passing whomever's speaking around the car to talk to them. I've seen that too many times, and the distractions it affords - "Can you hear me? We lost the signal! No, wait, it's back. OK. What?" and all that - aren't necessary when someone - especially an inexperienced kid - is driving.

There are parts of the brain that are engaged when driving a car. They're the same parts that are engaged when talking, and they can't do two different things at once.

[booksenkatz]

14. I always wondered about that, too

Then I read about a few studies which had been done which concluded that the distraction from the task of driving actually is different when a driver is talking with passengers vs. talking on a cell phone. It was noted that passengers can see the conditions the driver is facing, so a car conversation will often stop when the driver has to make sudden decisions. But a person on the other end of a cell phone conversation does not have that information and will keep talking/distracting the driver at such crucial moments. I read one study that had something about different areas of the brain being used with passengers vs. a cell phone conversation. I think it was something about the brain having to conjure up information about body language when someone is not with you. When you are engaged in any phone conversation, you subconsciously think about what the person looks like, his expressions, etc., in a way that you just don't do when someone is talking next to you. And the more that your brain is having to deal with the conversation and imagining the person on the other end of the line, the less it is able to deal with what's happening on the road.

That's all I remember reading about it, but it kind of made sense to me, at least.

[DeepModem Mom]

8. A cell-phone driver recently backended DeepModem Dad...

and shook him up pretty well -- and then sped off, with the phone to her ear. It seems like I see more and more people driving, while engaged in long conversations. I live in a state where this is legal, and admit I answer my cell phone while driving. But I keep the conversation as short as possible -- no chit chat while I drive. This is a problem that's getting worse.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

10. Once

I answered my cell phone once - and only once - while I was behind the wheel of a car. I was stopped at a light, I was waiting to hear from this person, and I figured I'd be safe.

I'm a very, very good driver. I mean, a really good driver. Careful and good.

So, I was first in line at this red light, and I answered the phone, and, without even realizing what I was doing, I hit the gas while I was talking - the light was still red - and found myself halfway into the intersection. Thankfully, no other traffic was around.

I hung up, backed up, and vowed never, never, never to break my contract with myself again. That was so scary, and I fully understood that day - as, I believe, most people don't - that the brain has its limitations.

That was scary as hell.

I hope DMDad got the license plate number of that harpy.

[DeepModem Mom]

12. He didn't have time before she sped off. She remains at large...

and his car spent a long time in repair.

And you're right -- I should rethink my driving and answering the phone. I could turn it off, and check for calls when I arrive wherever I'm going.

[LizW]

11. Won't the law be challenged if it applies only to teens?

Why not make it apply to everyone? There's a good argument (and probably statistics to support it) that the danger is the same regardless of age.

I'm guilty of doing it occasionally, I admit. I did get voice mail added to my cell service so I don't have to answer when I don't want to and people can leave a message. I love that. I can turn the phone off and still get messages.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

13. Not necessarily

There are already laws that restrict teens to driving only during certain hours, some need to be accompanied by a licensed driver, stuff like that, here in VA, and I suspect it's so in other states, although I can't say that with any authority.

But, I agree with you - it should apply to everyone. And voice mail works just fine for me, too.

[qanda]

15. No one should be able to use a cell phone

While they are driving. It's just the most unnecessary distraction ever. If someone calls me while they're driving I tell them that I can talk to them later.

[KansDem]

16. If cell phones weren't a tool for business and a toy for the affluent...

A ban on their use while driving would already be in effect.