OK, but what if I'm a passenger in the car and want to use my cell phone while the car is moving? The blocker that uses GPS doesn't know the difference whether I'm driving or riding.
Actually, that is a good question.... my mother and father drive in the car together, and when one cannot answer the phone, the other one does it for them. That is a situation that is going to come up, and the question is what we are going to do then.
Also, using a hands-free device while driving is dangerous, but so is being rushed to get home because you can't get that urgent call while in the car.
Using a hands-free device is an order of magnitude less dangerous than using a hand-held device. It's an absolutely minor problem. Granted, there will be users that are actually DIALING numbers while using a BT headset, but the problem is not the BT headset part.
I hate this type of absolutism.
So do most people, but the insurers are people who deal in 'absolutes' and don't look a person by person, like they really should in most cases, because it takes too much time to do that.
That's why Ford put in the SYNC system in a number of their higher-models. Imaging literally controlling your cellphone by voice command--and it actually works, too.
It's not absolutism. It's the conversation that causes the loss of attention to the driving. The proof of that is accumulating in more and more studies. Denial of that proof is just simple rationalization that "I'm just as safe a driver whether or not I'm on my hands-free phone." Newflash: NO YOU'RE NOT! --mark d.
Hands-free is probably no worse than listening to the radio and trying to change a station on the radio. Nationwide needs to get on the ball, and realize this.
The article clearly states that researchers have found that hands-free talking increases crash risk by four times over not talking at all.
The article also states that once the conversation has started, hands-free and hand-held are the same. The problem is the attention being placed on the conversation, not the act of dialing.
Also, changing a radio station, etc. takes a second or two. How many telephone conversations have you had that take a second or two.
Well I sure hope the local police are required to have their cell phones blocked as well... I see them frequently taking without using bluetooth while driving.
Studies seem to point to the fact that it is indeed the conversation, not the holding of the phone that is the dangerous part of cell phones in cars. And it makes sense to me. When you are in a conversation with someone IN the car, both people are not only involved in the conversation, but also in the transportation, so, for example, if a car comes speeding through a stop sign, or the driver is about to make a terrible mistake, the passenger is able to assist and warn the driver. On the other hand, during a cellphone conversation, the other conversation participant is not connected to what is going on in the car at all. There are no pauses, warnings, assistance in keeping watch on the situation that the driver is dealing with...
On Jaybee75's note, I have to agree. Police seem to be the worst offenders of cellphone use in busy city streets.
At cellcontrol we have created a solution that takes care of the driver vs passenger problem because we can tie the vehicle to the individual user. In the case of teens, we can put restrictions on the phones of teen drivers and their friends. We can set additional users from outside accounts to be recognized in your teen's auto. The solution allows for multiple scenarios that the administrator can set up and change anytime from the web.
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That is a situation that is going to come up, and the question is what we are going to do then.
Using a hands-free device is an order of magnitude less dangerous than using a hand-held device. It's an absolutely minor problem. Granted, there will be users that are actually DIALING numbers while using a BT headset, but the problem is not the BT headset part.
I hate this type of absolutism.
The article also states that once the conversation has started, hands-free and hand-held are the same. The problem is the attention being placed on the conversation, not the act of dialing.
Also, changing a radio station, etc. takes a second or two. How many telephone conversations have you had that take a second or two.
On Jaybee75's note, I have to agree. Police seem to be the worst offenders of cellphone use in busy city streets.