[Grovenet] more interesting reading

[Jeff Howden]

> From: David Morelli
> 
> The gist of the article is that use of cell phones
> reduces driver attention.  

Not to nitpick, but studies are grossly flawed.  If you put together a study
to find out how distracting cellphones are, then that's the data you'll get
out of the study or you'll purposely skew the case studies that that's the
only possible outcome (like purposely screening for only individuals with
ADD).  How about some studious individual takes the data from these various
studies and looks to see if there's enough information to support the
reasonable hypothesis that not *all* drivers have their attention reduced
when on the cellphone?  Or, how about they take other potential distracters
into consideration in their study as well in order to get a better picture
of the overall landscape of distracters and where talking on a cellphone
falls into the overall picture.  In no particular order, here are just a few
things I can think of that are potentially as much or more distracting than
talking on a cellphone, at least to me:

- emergency vehicle overtaking at a high rate
  of speed with lights and siren on

- the opportunistic idiot that's following
  said emergency vehicle causing problems for
  all the cars that yielded the road that're
  now trying to get back into the lane of
  traffic.

- the gnarly accident on the side of the road
  for rubber-neckers to get their fix

- talk radio (some of it is so infuriatingly
  closed-minded I can hardly see straight after
  only a few minutes of listening [Limbaugh,
  Larson, etc.])

- books on tape/CD/MP3

- *that* guy next to you that's flipping you off
  because of some offense you've committed that
  only he knows about and he has court-ordered
  anger management classes to attend to deal with it

- trying to work your way through traffic that's 
  held up by one of those people that's fitted
  with invisible blinders when they drive

- the hellish view that is HWY 26 westbound in the
  evening 

- that same hellish view that is HWY 26 eastbound
  in the morning

- windshield covered in dead bugs or looks like it
  got in a fight with a thousand golf balls and lost

- kids screaming in the backseat (or any seat, really)

- late for work and trying to put makeup on (you
  ladies know who you are)

- book/magazine reading (yes, seen it)

- tie-tiers

- that gal in the other lane (driving an SUV) that's
  talking on her cellphone, oblivious to the cars
  around her, changing lanes with hardly a glance

- that guy who's using a laptop that's sitting in
  the passenger seat or mounted on the dash (/me wags
  a finger at nearly every police officer)

- that other guy that's poking away at his windshield
  or dash-mounted GPS unit

- that teenage girl that's texting in rush hour while
  she's dutifully riding the backside of the car in 
  front of her.

- in car entertainment/gaming systems

- road signs.  Yes, I said road signs.  When you're
  on a long trip on a highway you're not familiar with,
  looking for food and trying to decipher the 8 logos
  on the blue info signs before each exit and then
  trying to quickly make a decision about whether to
  exit the highway or not in the 300 feet between that
  blue sign and the exit ramp.

- AM/FM/XM channel/station surfers

- Individuals with old-school CD changers (you know, 
  the visor holder or the big zip-open binder)

- heavy rain/sleet/hail/snow/fog

- driving with headphones on listening to music
  probably turned up loud enough they couldn't hear
  other drivers honking, sirens, or the sound of 
  tires screeching.

- the douchebag North Plains police officer that
  insists on sitting on the shoulder with all lights
  out just before the Glencoe road exit (yes, he's a
  distraction and bound to cause an accident one of
  these days) in such a way that you have to pass
  too close to him so you can exit, you exit from the
  left lane, or are either forced to miss the exit
  or slow down so much you present a hazard to those
  following if you're going to be 100% law-abiding
  about it.

- those guys that leave their local bar at 1:45am in
  the hopes of getting home before the local police
  start their booze/DUII patrol.

Sadly, you can't legislate common sense.  You can teach it, but it's only as
good as the retention and re-application of those being taught.  Almost all
those things (with a few obvious exceptions) can be done safely (to a
degree) while driving, but too few save them for when the risk is minimal,
instead choosing by conscious choice or pure circumstance to do them when
the risk is the highest.

Personally, I've read a map, read some printed instructions, fumbled for a
CD, dialed my phone, texted, talked on the phone (without a headset, with a
headset, and with a handsfree car kit), eaten food, picked my teeth in the
rearview mirror, taken a look a little longer than I should in the back to
see just *why* there's so much noise coming from the kids, and even removed
clothing (usually just a jacket, coat, or sweater) while driving.  Yes, each
of those things carries with it some inherent danger.  So does getting in my
car and leaving my driveway.  However, the risk to myself and others on the
road is mitigated by the choice I make about the timing of those things.
For example, would I eat food while on a residential street going past a
school during school hours?  You can bet I wouldn't.  Would I do it while on
the freeway when traffic is light and other distracters are low or
non-existent?  If I think the risk is low enough, yes.

That said, many of the activities, if saved for the lower risk times, do not
present a reduction in attention for me.  Perhaps it's because I know going
into the activity that there's additional risk and my awareness increases to
account for it.

In the end, I think it's more important to follow the principle of the law
rather than the letter of the law, though that's no defense in court should
I get cited for breaking the letter of the law without actually endangering
anyone (or myself).  For many, however, they struggle with even applying the
principle so you have to guide them with specific laws that govern their
behavior.  Practically every cellphone on the market these days supports
Bluetooth.  You can get a handsfree kit or Bluetooth headset for as little
as $20.  There's absolutely no excuse for anyone to be driving around
holding a phone up to their head anymore.  For that reason, I'm completely
in favor of a law banning cellphone use without the use of a handsfree kit
or headset.  For the reasons mentioned by Walt, I'd rather it was a primary
offense and aggressively enforced.

> If you need to talk, pull over.  The only exception
> I can imagine would be a 911 call.

Between running my own business, commuting back and forth between FG and
downtown Portland, and being a single parent, I don't have time in my
schedule to field every call I get (and I get a lot) from the side of the
road.  I am able to hold a conversation on the phone without affecting my
ability to pay attention to what's going on around me.  I'm also not shy
when it comes to telling the person on the other end of the line to please
hold the line while I address a risk that has presented itself (like one of
the many I listed above).  I also didn't learn to drive by watching the
license plate of the car in front of me.  Even with other distractions
happening, I'm always aware of what's going on many cars ahead of me, to my
sides, and even several cars behind me.

Ironically, I can see how a 911 call would be far more distracting than any
other type of phone call, at least for me anyway.

Just my 2¢

Jeff