Move over traffic laws

[SunDude]

Originally Posted by CSXDreamer

...If one is driving in the far right lane and has a vehicle or other vehicles in the lane to his left, he certainly can't move over. Now it becomes a judgement call on a patrol officer whether a passing car has slowed down to a certain speed...

In Ontario the law states that a driver must change lanes provided that it is safe to do so -- so if someone is immediately to your left, you would have little option but to slow down in the right-hand lane as you pass the emergency vehicle. (Still, if you've ever changed a flat tire on the highway shoulder, you know how terrifying and dangerous it can be.)

But all this is moot if a driver isn't paying attention and this is a chronic problem these days, in my opinion. Too many drivers are too busy thinking about and doing other things. Like phoning or texting. Now there's a behaviour that puts everyone at risk, not just emergency staff. I do wish people would start taking this more seriously.

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I actually take pride in how I drive. And I enjoy it. It's one of the my favorite things to do. So paying attention to the road and to how my car is running is not a chore. No cell phone for me.

[Cobrabill]

[quote=SunDude;
Now there's a behaviour that puts everyone at risk, not just emergency staff. [/QUOTE]

You nailed it:"BEHAVIOR".And as anyone short of a imbecile knows,you can't legislate behavior.

Cell phone are no different than:

Ipods
cd/tape decks
GPS systems
Heater/A.C. controls
power mirrors
rotten little bastards in the back seat
"Airbag" in the passenger seat

The driver is being distracted.The source of the distraction is irrelevant.Ban them all or ban NONE of them.

[TXBLU]

Originally Posted by Cobrabill

You nailed it:"BEHAVIOR".And as anyone short of a imbecile knows,you can't legislate behavior.

Cell phone are no different than:

Ipods
cd/tape decks
GPS systems
Heater/A.C. controls
power mirrors
rotten little bastards in the back seat
"Airbag" in the passenger seat

The driver is being distracted.The source of the distraction is irrelevant.Ban them all or ban NONE of them.

I guess turn signals, wipers, and headlights should be banned, too, by that logic (or lack thereof).

Cell phone use has been shown to as bad, or worse, of a driving impaiment as being drunk. A lot of GPS systems have limited use while the vehicle is in motion. iPods I don't know about, but are probably nearly as bad as cell phones. As for the rest on your list, not even close.

Cell phone use while driving should be banned in all 50 states. Gotta make a call? Pull over.

Gotta change your rotten little bastard's diaper? Pull over.

Don't get along with your wife? Seek counseling.

Can't chew gum and walk at the same time? Maybe you shouldn't be driving, let alone adjusting your AC or changing the radio station...

Eric

[Cobrabill]

Originally Posted by TXBLU

I guess turn signals, wipers, and headlights should be banned, too, by that logic (or lack thereof).

Cell phone use has been shown to as bad, or worse, of a driving impaiment as being drunk. A lot of GPS systems have limited use while the vehicle is in motion. iPods I don't know about, but are probably nearly as bad as cell phones. As for the rest on your list, not even close.

Cell phone use while driving should be banned in all 50 states. Gotta make a call? Pull over.

Gotta change your rotten little bastard's diaper? Pull over.

Don't get along with your wife? Seek counseling.

Can't chew gum and walk at the same time? Maybe you shouldn't be driving, let alone adjusting your AC or changing the radio station...

Eric

You're wrong.

[TXBLU]

Originally Posted by Cobrabill

You're wrong.

I think most would disagree with you.

Eric

[Cobrabill]

Originally Posted by TXBLU

I think most would disagree with you.

Eric

Then "most" would be wrong also.Evidence dictates that if it the cell phone was focal point of the problem,then the number of accidents resulting from cell phone useage would be staggering.The amount of accidents does not "jive" with the number of cells in use.Therefore,the logical conclusion is PEOPLE are the problem.

Corollary:

Guns don't kill people,PEOPLE kill people.

Cell phones don't cause accidents,PEOPLE talking on them do.

[Black Mamba]

Originally Posted by Cobrabill

You nailed it:"BEHAVIOR".And as anyone short of a imbecile knows,you can't legislate behavior.

Cell phone are no different than:

Ipods
cd/tape decks
GPS systems
Heater/A.C. controls
power mirrors
rotten little bastards in the back seat
"Airbag" in the passenger seat

The driver is being distracted.The source of the distraction is irrelevant.Ban them all or ban NONE of them.

Plenty of evidence out there about all the distractions you've listed but I (and most will) beg to differ on a cell phone in the hands of a driver being no different then the other items on your list. Plus you need to think about time involvement with a cell phone - blocking your vision on one side - verses things like adjusting the radio, mirrors, etc.

From the web, study done in 2005:

Cell phone distraction causes 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States every year, according to the journal's publisher, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

The reason is now obvious:

Behind the Statistics
Are Cell Phones Really So Dangerous?

Drivers talking on cell phones were 18 percent slower to react to brake lights, the new study found. In a minor bright note, they also kept a 12 percent greater following distance. But they also took 17 percent longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked. That frustrates everyone.

"Once drivers on cell phones hit the brakes, it takes them longer to get back into the normal flow of traffic," Strayer said. "The net result is they are impeding the overall flow of traffic."

Strayer and his colleagues have been down this road before. In 2001, they found that even hands-free cell phone use distracted drivers. In 2003 they revealed a reason: Drivers look but don't see, because they're distracted by the conversation. The scientists also found previously that chatty motorists are less adept than drunken drivers with blood alcohol levels exceeding 0.08.

Separate research last year at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign supported the conclusion that hands-free cell phone use causes driver distraction.

"With younger adults, everything got worse," said Arthur Kramer, who led the Illinois study. "Both young adults and older adults tended to show deficits in performance. They made more errors in detecting important changes and they took longer to react to the changes."

The impaired reactions involved seconds, not just fractions of a second, so stopping distances increased by car-lengths.