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Maybe I'm just anti-social, but I love that I can use driving as an excuse to ignore calls & texts, will envoke it every chance I get, and still haven't adopted

Maybe I'm just anti-social, but I love that I can use driving as an excuse to ignore calls & texts, will envoke it every chance I get, and still haven't adopted a hands-free solution so I can continue doing so.

gte910h 14y ago
Hands free solutions do not help according to studies. That's the ironic thing about many laws requiring them. http://www.baldwinandlyons.com/publications/quill/2011/04/inattention_blindness.html http://www.baldwinandlyons.com/publications/quill/2011/04/in...
- flexxaeon 14y ago
  excellent - another weapon in my arsenal of excuses. thanks!
- clarkevans 14y ago
  I like the direction of his broader category, "distracted driving". For years I always thought that "baby on board" was pretentious and meant that you should be careful, because if you cause an accident you might kill a baby. Now I'm older, wiser (and have a child now). What "Baby on Board" means is that the driver is seriously distracted. edit: I'm being sarcastic; I don't see any difference between a properly implemented hands-free environment and having a passenger: you must still keep your eyes on the road, your ears listening for interesting events, and your mind tracking all the vehicles and pedestrians near you.
  - tatsuke95 14y ago
    >I like the direction of his broader category, "distracted driving". I understand the sentiment, but that's too broad for me. I don't like giving the police unlimited discretion in determining whether I have broken the law or not. Tell me what I can and can't do, and I'll act accordingly.
    - ensignavenger 14y ago
      Police never have unlimited discretion in determining whether or not you have violated the law- that is for a judge and/or jury to determine. Still, I agree with the sentiment- I think we need to focus on the sociology of distracted driving, rather than the criminology.
      - tatsuke95 14y ago
        >"Police never have unlimited discretion in determining whether or not you have violated the law- that is for a judge and/or jury to determine." Maybe it's up to the judge/jury to determine if you broke the law, but this certainly gives police the right to pull you over because you looked "distracted". That's too ambiguous for me.
  - tomjen3 14y ago
    Then maybe we should ban babies on cars. It isn't fair to the rest of society that he have to risk our lives because you decied to have a child.
  - bryanlarsen 14y ago
    There's a huge difference between hands-free and having a passenger, and the statistics show it. Driving with a passenger is safer than driving alone. Driving while talking on your cell phone, even with a hands-free device is much more dangerous. Nobody knows exactly why, but there are many plausible theories. When you have a passenger, the passenger is generally also paying to the environment -- in essence they're helping you pay attention.
- k3n 14y ago
  In the very least, hopefully the hands-free devices will act to discriminate against those without the setup. So while the problem isn't totally solved, it at least requires extra effort to remain legal.
heed 14y ago
I believe the term you're looking for is "asocial." Anti-social implies that you're sociopathic.
- flexxaeon 14y ago
  Depends on the nature of the phone call or text message...
R_Edward 14y ago
I used to text and drive all the time, and scorned the laws that said I mustn't. I've never caused an accident, never strayed out of my lane, or even close to the edge, never slowed way down, never changed lanes nor turned without appropriate safety precautions first... but I've stopped. Not because of the law, or my wife's pleading, not even because I want to set a good example to my kids. But because a) I realized I was, in fact, subdividing my attention and giving too little to the more complex activity, b) I'm not nearly important enough that anyone needs an instant response to a text to me, and c) it gives me a built-in excuse to enjoy alone-time while I'm driving. Now I do occasionally sneak a look at my incoming texts or emails when I'm waiting at a red light. That's illegal too, and I don't really understand why. Maybe because it's too tempting to continue the activity after the light turns green. What really chaps my hide though, are the cops who will write you a ticket for sneaking a glance at your phone, while they have a freakin' laptop on a shelf right there in the front seat, for looking up hot women's license plates while they're tailing them.

gte910h 14y ago

Hands free solutions do not help according to studies. That's the ironic thing about many laws requiring them. http://www.baldwinandlyons.com/publications/quill/2011/04/inattention_blindness.html http://www.baldwinandlyons.com/publications/quill/2011/04/in...

flexxaeon 14y ago
excellent - another weapon in my arsenal of excuses. thanks!
clarkevans 14y ago
I like the direction of his broader category, "distracted driving". For years I always thought that "baby on board" was pretentious and meant that you should be careful, because if you cause an accident you might kill a baby. Now I'm older, wiser (and have a child now). What "Baby on Board" means is that the driver is seriously distracted. edit: I'm being sarcastic; I don't see any difference between a properly implemented hands-free environment and having a passenger: you must still keep your eyes on the road, your ears listening for interesting events, and your mind tracking all the vehicles and pedestrians near you.
- tatsuke95 14y ago
  >I like the direction of his broader category, "distracted driving". I understand the sentiment, but that's too broad for me. I don't like giving the police unlimited discretion in determining whether I have broken the law or not. Tell me what I can and can't do, and I'll act accordingly.
  - ensignavenger 14y ago
    Police never have unlimited discretion in determining whether or not you have violated the law- that is for a judge and/or jury to determine. Still, I agree with the sentiment- I think we need to focus on the sociology of distracted driving, rather than the criminology.
    - tatsuke95 14y ago
      >"Police never have unlimited discretion in determining whether or not you have violated the law- that is for a judge and/or jury to determine." Maybe it's up to the judge/jury to determine if you broke the law, but this certainly gives police the right to pull you over because you looked "distracted". That's too ambiguous for me.
- tomjen3 14y ago
  Then maybe we should ban babies on cars. It isn't fair to the rest of society that he have to risk our lives because you decied to have a child.
- bryanlarsen 14y ago
  There's a huge difference between hands-free and having a passenger, and the statistics show it. Driving with a passenger is safer than driving alone. Driving while talking on your cell phone, even with a hands-free device is much more dangerous. Nobody knows exactly why, but there are many plausible theories. When you have a passenger, the passenger is generally also paying to the environment -- in essence they're helping you pay attention.
k3n 14y ago
In the very least, hopefully the hands-free devices will act to discriminate against those without the setup. So while the problem isn't totally solved, it at least requires extra effort to remain legal.

heed 14y ago

I believe the term you're looking for is "asocial." Anti-social implies that you're sociopathic.

flexxaeon 14y ago
Depends on the nature of the phone call or text message...

R_Edward 14y ago

I used to text and drive all the time, and scorned the laws that said I mustn't. I've never caused an accident, never strayed out of my lane, or even close to the edge, never slowed way down, never changed lanes nor turned without appropriate safety precautions first... but I've stopped. Not because of the law, or my wife's pleading, not even because I want to set a good example to my kids. But because a) I realized I was, in fact, subdividing my attention and giving too little to the more complex activity, b) I'm not nearly important enough that anyone needs an instant response to a text to me, and c) it gives me a built-in excuse to enjoy alone-time while I'm driving. Now I do occasionally sneak a look at my incoming texts or emails when I'm waiting at a red light. That's illegal too, and I don't really understand why. Maybe because it's too tempting to continue the activity after the light turns green. What really chaps my hide though, are the cops who will write you a ticket for sneaking a glance at your phone, while they have a freakin' laptop on a shelf right there in the front seat, for looking up hot women's license plates while they're tailing them.