People who use their mobile phone while driving?

[DukeNukem]

How about we ban automatic transmissions and FORCE everyone to drive with a manual transmission? Then they can't be yapping on the phone or texting because they have to shift and use the clutch pedal.

Plus, we might save a little gas in the long run.

[Osensitive1]

Sticks are a pain in the ass in the city.

[Adam]

I think a lot of people who've killed someone while talking on their phone thought they were still "good drivers"

However much someone thinks they're a good driver, I still don't think it's right and I still believe it's gonna effect your ability to drive safely

If someone I love was hit and seriously injured or killed and it turned out the driver had been on his phone, I'd probably want to smash his skull in. I just think it's selfish to do that - if it's just your life you're putting at risk then fine, but what if a little kid stepped out in front of you - do you honestly think that your concentration wouldn't be effected even in the slightest?

[DukeNukem]

Sticks are a pain in the ass in the city.

How about we make power steering illegal as well? Then we'll be doing some REAL fucking driving, not just sit there and assume that the computer can do all of the driving for us.

[Osensitive1]

Have you ever had the power steering go out?

[Adam]

Then we'll be doing some REAL fucking driving, not just sit there and assume that the computer can do all of the driving for us.

Why don't you apply this to yourself, as advice on how you should live your life?

[DukeNukem]

Then we'll be doing some REAL fucking driving, not just sit there and assume that the computer can do all of the driving for us.

Why don't you apply this to yourself, as advice on how you should live your life?

It took me a minute until I realized who you were. Fucking Soph. Why don't you just go jump off of a cliff and die you transsexual piece of shit?

[Queen Victoria]

Then we'll be doing some REAL fucking driving, not just sit there and assume that the computer can do all of the driving for us.

Why don't you apply this to yourself, as advice on how you should live your life?

It took me a minute until I realized who you were. Fucking Soph. Why don't you just go jump off of a cliff and die you transsexual piece of shit?

I think someone's misplaced their manners.  Should we send out a scouting party for them?

[Parts]

How about we ban automatic transmissions and FORCE everyone to drive with a manual transmission? Then they can't be yapping on the phone or texting because they have to shift and use the clutch pedal.

Plus, we might save a little gas in the long run.

So  you drive a stick or do you drive at all?

Lots of factors can contribute to an accident most of the time it's just carelessness 

[Scrapheap]

Sticks are a pain in the ass in the city.

 

You have no idea how sick I was of rowing through the gears on the 91 freeway to and from work.

Stop and go traffic on the freeway sucks in a stick.

[eris]

I think a lot of people who've killed someone while talking on their phone thought they were still "good drivers"

However much someone thinks they're a good driver, I still don't think it's right and I still believe it's gonna effect your ability to drive safely

If someone I love was hit and seriously injured or killed and it turned out the driver had been on his phone, I'd probably want to smash his skull in. I just think it's selfish to do that - if it's just your life you're putting at risk then fine, but what if a little kid stepped out in front of you - do you honestly think that your concentration wouldn't be effected even in the slightest?

I think it effects all people differently, and some people just cant handle it. I think anyone that has been driving less than 5 years shouldnt do it, and I dont agree with texting at all. I onle drive with one hand anyway, usually one finger - it isnt like I'm going to look away or take a hand off the wheel Im using. true it would effect my concentration but less than 1% I am sure.

Listening to music could effect concentration as well, or talking to someone. I'm not going to sit in silence at 10 and 2 "just in case".

I think it's about knowing your limits.

[Queen Victoria]

I find that I totally zone out the few times I've been talking while driving.  Thankfully the PR is usually with me and I have her answer the phone and relay the message until I can safely pull over.  Otherwise I don't answer it until I've pulled over.  That's just based on my experience on what my limits are.

[Callaway]

I think a lot of people who've killed someone while talking on their phone thought they were still "good drivers"

However much someone thinks they're a good driver, I still don't think it's right and I still believe it's gonna effect your ability to drive safely

If someone I love was hit and seriously injured or killed and it turned out the driver had been on his phone, I'd probably want to smash his skull in. I just think it's selfish to do that - if it's just your life you're putting at risk then fine, but what if a little kid stepped out in front of you - do you honestly think that your concentration wouldn't be effected even in the slightest?

I think it effects all people differently, and some people just cant handle it. I think anyone that has been driving less than 5 years shouldnt do it, and I dont agree with texting at all. I onle drive with one hand anyway, usually one finger - it isnt like I'm going to look away or take a hand off the wheel Im using. true it would effect my concentration but less than 1% I am sure.

Listening to music could effect concentration as well, or talking to someone. I'm not going to sit in silence at 10 and 2 "just in case".

I think it's about knowing your limits.

In Colorado, the law is that no drivers under the age of 21 can talk on a cell phone while driving and nobody, no matter what their age, is allowed to text while driving.  Adult drivers are legally allowed to talk on hand held cell phones while driving, though.

[Semicolon]

Here is an interesting study about the effect of using a cell phone while driving. There is a reaction time deficit that occurs during cell phone use that does not occur when adjusting a radio control, or because a driver is simply holding a phone.

Dual-task studies assessed the effects of cellular-phone conversations on performance of a simulated driving task. Performance was not disrupted by listening to radio broadcasts or listening to a book on tape. Nor was it disrupted by a continuous shadowing task using a handheld phone, ruling out, in this case, dual-task interpretations associated with holding the phone, listening, or speaking. However, significant interference was observed in a word-generation variant of the shadowing task, and this deficit increased with the difficulty of driving. Moreover, unconstrained conversations using either a handheld or a hands-free cell phone resulted in a twofold increase in the failure to detect simulated traffic signals and slower reactions to those signals that were detected. We suggest that cellular-phone use disrupts performance by diverting attention to an engaging cognitive context other than the one immediately associated with driving.

Source

Here's another one. Apologies; I could only copy the abstract.

Objective: The objective of this research was to determine the relative impairment associated with conversing on a cellular telephone while driving. Background: Epidemiological evidence suggests that the relative risk of being in a traffic accident while using a cell phone is similar to the hazard associated with driving with a blood alcohol level at the legal limit. The purpose of this research was to provide a direct comparison of the driving performance of a cell phone driver and a drunk driver in a controlled laboratory setting. Method: We used a high-fidelity driving simulator to compare the performance of cell phone drivers with drivers who were intoxicated from ethanol (i.e., blood alcohol concentration at 0.08% weight/volume). Results: When drivers were conversing on either a handheld or hands-free cell phone, their braking reactions were delayed and they were involved in more traffic accidents than when they were not conversing on a cell phone. By contrast, when drivers were intoxicated from ethanol they exhibited a more aggressive driving style, following closer to the vehicle immediately in front of them and applying more force while braking. Conclusion: When driving conditions and time on task were controlled for, the impairments associated with using a cell phone while driving can be as profound as those associated with driving while drunk. Application: This research may help to provide guidance for regulation addressing driver distraction caused by cell phone conversations.

Source

Eris: Here is a rebuttal to your argument.

Prior research has documented the manner in which a variety of driving performance measures are impacted by concurrent cell-phone use as well as the influence of age and gender of the driver. This current study examined the extent to which different driver groups are aware of their associated performance decrements. Subjects’ confidence in dealing with distractors while driving and their ratings of task performance and demand were compared with their actual driving performance in the presence of a cell-phone task. While high confidence ratings appeared to be predictive of better driving performance for male drivers (as confidence increased, the size of the distraction effects decreased), this relationship did not hold for females; in fact, for older females, as confidence increased, performance decreased. Additionally, when drivers were matched in terms of confidence level, brake responses of older females were slowed to a much greater extent (0.38 s) than were brake responses of any other group (0.10 s for younger males and females and 0.07 s for older males). Finally, females also rated the driving task as less demanding than males, even though their performance was more greatly affected by distraction. These results suggest that many drivers may not be aware of their decreased performance while using cell-phones and that it may be particularly important to target educational campaigns on driver distraction towards female drivers for whom there tended to be a greater discrepancy between driver perceptions and actual performance.

The driving public needs to be educated regarding the possible effects of distraction and their relative ability (or inability) to compensate for them. One difficulty is that it is necessary to educate drivers regarding effects of distraction that they may not be able to observe themselves (i.e. “missed” red lights or other failures to detect or respond to events in the driving environment). Additionally, our results suggest that it may be particularly important to target educational campaigns towards female drivers as they appear to have the greatest disconnect between actual and perceived ability.

Source

['Butterflies']

It is totally wrong, and nobody should do it no matter how long they've been driving.

I do it all the time though. Mostly because I'm a crap driver. I even do it on my scooter. I hold the phone outside my helmet, and shout into it. I'm sure it's only a matter of time untill the police catch me, although I think they should have more important things to do here