Comments on: Hanging Up

By: Ludvig Johansson

Ludvig Johansson — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:02:58 +0000

Well, people don’t take responsibility, and no amount of “fair” texting for passengers can make up for the fact that lives are saved. So stop being selfish.

By: Aiden

Aiden — Tue, 17 May 2011 01:14:24 +0000

I think it’s a matter of personal responsibility of a person. If you are the one driving, you must avoid texting or using a cellphone while hitting the roads. But of course if you are just a passenger in the back seat, you could text all the way. Before I purchased my Dodge car (when I was in Canada), I rode cabs/taxis most of the time and I actively used my cellular phone especially if there were important messages or calls to respond to. it would be unfair to those people who are are just merely passengers if the the automatic signal termination would be implemented.

By: Dave Hunt

Dave Hunt — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 21:05:25 +0000

I think the root of the problem isn’t even the cell phone usage, but the fact that we FEEL that driving is so safe.

Porsche didn’t put cup holders in their cars until the last decade or so because they didn’t understand how someone would NOT be focused on their driving long enough to take a sip of their beverage.

In America, with cars that can handle way more than our roads give them, we get bored. We want (and need) to keep our minds busier.

The only people I know who turn everything off in their car while driving are the agressive drivers, or the paranoid.

By: Rich Wilson

Rich Wilson — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:51:33 +0000

I hope for a day when driving on a cell phone is akin to driving drunk. People still do it, but it’s as un-cool as kicking a puppy.

I’ve been trying to think of a good bumper sticker. “If you’re on your cell phone, don’t follow me” “Cell-phone-driving = driving drunk”. I dunno, maybe an informal contest Tom?

By: 2fs

2fs — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:48:30 +0000

Aside from logistical issues (retrofitting old cars, persuading manufacturers to install devices in new cars), I’d imagine you could install a device that detected a “live” cell phone within X feet of the steering column and jammed it in that radius so long as the car is moving. To prevent the driver from leaning over into the passenger space to make a call (which, no doubt, some moron would try), perhaps this device could also kill any cellphone in the passenger space *unless* a body were in the appropriate position behind the steering wheel. So, a combination of detecting the cell phone and detecting physical presence.

This would allow passengers to make calls while preventing the driver from doing so. Of course, this is probably way too complex to be practical…but maybe a simpler solution would be just to say: sorry, driving’s too important, so no calls in a moving vehicle, driver *or* passenger. If you need to make a call, pull over. It would seem there’d be a way to allow only 911 calls to go through, though.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:52:25 +0000

Loved your book and have ordered a copy for my driving teacher! As a late in life learner (no license yet), this issue concerns me. I have lived abroad (Japan, Germany, Belgium) for thirty years, and although I have never driven in these countries, I’ve had a taste of good roads and good driving…and the exact opposite. The complications of roads in Brussels and big cities in Japan demanded attention…and the attitude of most German drivers also demanded ’safe driving’. Issuing fines for cell phone use is impractical,unless there are enough patrols to seek out offenders. Raising insurance rates for individuals causing accidents (or suspending license…thus inconveniencing the culprits) comes only after the danger resulted in loss. Maybe we should go back and see how people accepted seatbelts as a law.
I would guess that those on their cells show the same ‘novice’ tendencies as me on the road…so maybe they need to have sticker on their car indicating that (”L” for learner)…much like they have in Japan!

By: BB

BB — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:33:50 +0000

Why don’t we require a way for our DL to register in the car. This would solve a number of issues. Say swipe your card. We need to bring back the privilege. Less congestion through less DLs.

By: SteveL

SteveL — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:43:21 +0000

I would argue that the US has optimised for inattention through
* automatic gearboxes - frees up one hand for other things (drinking coffee, shaving, making calls), and stops the driver having to pay attention to engine RPMs
* wide roads without anything in the way. Anything that does get in the way (e.g. bicycles) get criticised for causing a problem.
* simple navigation problems.
In an EU city with narrow windy streets and a manual gearbox, it is that much harder to get away with being inattentive. You need to know the width of the vehicle and its position relative to the wing-mirrors of passing cars to the millimetre. You also have to navigate, although SatNav has reduced that to “do whatever the machine tells you to”

Boston is half-way between the extremes. Narrow and windy, still driven by inattentive drivers.

By: Tom Vanderbilt

Tom Vanderbilt — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:05:01 +0000

Vis a vis the objections to the technological fixes, which are all quite valid, I wonder if anyone CAN think of a technological fix that would work? A wireless jamming device in the driver’s seat?

By: Mark Young

Mark Young — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:04:17 +0000

I had similar thoughts to everyone above - what if you were on a bus, or a train. Or what if you were Usain Bolt?

Anyway, couple of other tidbits you might be interested in. Charles Spence of Oxford University did some research not dissimilar to the ‘visual anchor’ work you referred to - he experimented with a ‘talking windscreen’, on the basis that you localise your (visual) attention towards the source of the sound. It seemed to work.

The other one is a quite convincing meta-analysis just published in the Journal of Safety Research by Ishigami & Klein (vol. 40, issue 2, pp. 157-164). The overriding conclusion is that hands-free conversations are really no better than handheld phones for driver distraction.