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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 b

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.

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.