Do you talk on cell phone when driving?

Do you talk on cell phone while driving? Pick one of first four and last only if yes.

  • Never

    Votes: 18 12.6%
  • Only when REALLY necessary,

    Votes: 24 16.8%
  • Yeah, sometimes.

    Votes: 49 34.3%
  • I do often.

    Votes: 31 21.7%
  • When I do I use earbud, bluetooth, or other hands free system.

    Votes: 37 25.9%

  • Total voters
    143

ladydisdain

New member
I came here looking for info on the Bundle Me/safety issue, and thought I'd look around while I was here. This thread kind of stuns me. I honestly can't believe how many people who are obsessed (in a very good way) with car seat safety talk on the phone in their car. Study after study (a few linked above) has shown that this is not safe, that it impairs your reaction time as much as or more than drinking does, that it is a bigger distraction than passenger conversations - and yet so many of you continue to do it. Do you not see the disconnect between being so worried about proper car seat use and then hopping in the car and making and receiving phone calls? And the reasons you cite - pizza ordering, traffic checking, checking in with your spouse - are any of these things more important than possibly causing an accident?

In my traffic-heavy SAHM-heavy suburban area, I cannot tell you how many times I see mothers on cell phones with kids in the back doing reckless, illegal, and stupid things while driving. People on cell phones rarely signal and often drift over the lane lines. I cannot tell you how many times I have almost been hit by people on cell phones, who never hear my horn (or realize it's for them, because they're on the phone).

One of my biggest fears as a parent is that one of these people in an Escalade or a Hummer or a Yukon is going to run a stop sign and plow right into my Honda Civic and injure or kill my baby.
 
ADS

nursekori

New member
I came here looking for info on the Bundle Me/safety issue, and thought I'd look around while I was here. This thread kind of stuns me. I honestly can't believe how many people who are obsessed (in a very good way) with car seat safety talk on the phone in their car. Study after study (a few linked above) has shown that this is not safe, that it impairs your reaction time as much as or more than drinking does, that it is a bigger distraction than passenger conversations - and yet so many of you continue to do it. Do you not see the disconnect between being so worried about proper car seat use and then hopping in the car and making and receiving phone calls? And the reasons you cite - pizza ordering, traffic checking, checking in with your spouse - are any of these things more important than possibly causing an accident?

So I'm just clarifying here, are you telling us that you have *never* used your cell phone while in the car? Do I think that any of those aforementioned "reasons" are good ones? No, I personally do not, but I'm not going to sit here and say that I have never taken a call on my cell phone while I'm driving. I wear my bluetooth headset while in the car and *rarely* use even that while I am driving, but there have been instances where I have *needed* to call someone from the car. Anyone with a cell phone who says they have never used it in the car....well...I'd sure like to meet that person.
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
Not to be snarky or anything, but unless you have special-needs kids, it can be difficult to understand that one's children can be far more of a distraction than any cell.
My cell phone rarely gets used, but I do use it.
 

ladydisdain

New member
Yes, I am saying I do not use my cell phone in the car. If I need to make a call, I pull into a parking lot or over to the side of the road. I do not answer my cell phone in the car.

I can understand that maybe you feel that your children are a bigger distraction than your phone, but your phone is still a distraction. However, I find that people who use their phone in the car always think that they are the exception and that of course they never fail to signal/stop or start suddenly/drift over a lane line/fail to notice a light change, and that in pretty much every case, they are wrong.

Everyone lived for a long time without being able to order pizza from the car. Somehow we all managed to go about our lives just fine. If you're going to be obsessed about car safety, be obsessed about all aspects of it.
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
I agree.... My nieces/nephews can't imagine life without a cell phone, but I remember it clearly enough ;) Mine stays stored in my minipurse under the front passenger seat -- if it rings it just goes to voicemail (anyone who really wants to speak with me will leave a message that I'll check when I'm safely parked). The *only* times I answer my phone in the car has been when a physician or lawyer was returning my call & this after a frustrating game of phone tag leaving me at risk of suffering other dangers of great financial loss or illness etc: still, I explain that I'm driving & please hold while I pull over to park safely.
 

wondering1

New member
If the kids are being distracting to the driver, the driver can decide to pull over or exit the highway and pull over so that safety is preserved.

Everytime DS was very noisy in the car, I explained the situation to him while taking measures to make my family safe.

I also do not own a cell phone.

I did re-work our priorities so that our lives have less stress/less multi-tasking.

Life is precious.
 
B

broxbourneDELETE

Guest
Never. I don't even have a cellphone (I know, it's hard to believe), and if I did I would probably have lost it within the first month.

--Charlene
Mom of 2 boys, 3yo and 11mo
 

cpsaddict

New member
:D I rarely talk on the phone, but I have a Nextel and my mother has a nasty habit of *yelling* at me throught the walkie talkie part. Try driving with that. However, I can talk on the walkie part without even looking at the phone. I usually pick it up to tell her to call me later(ok, I tell her to shush, I am driving here! :D )

Oh, and I have a manual transmission, so it's darn near impossible to drive and shift, so talking doesn't really work.
 

TheRealMacGyver

New member
Good reading here guys, I love a good debate:D . I have to admit, I do talk and drive at the same time, sometimes even while I'm chewing gum too!

Funny story to add here; I was at a read light second in row, minding my own business. The light turns green and the car in front isn't going anywhere. I honk my horn to wake them up. The guy holds his phone up and points to it , yelling something. The only thing I could understand was, hey, I'm on the phone! He was acting like I was in the wrong! I had to sit behind him until the light cycled once more! Talk about road-rage.
 

twom

New member
I have to say, I'm with ladydisdain on this one. I am really, really surprised that so many "safety obsessed" people here would do something in the car that makes them just as impaired as drinking. If you wouldn't drive drunk, and this causes *the same level of impairment,* then why in the world would you do it. If it was just you you were going to kill, then go for it, but it's your kids, your family, and every other person on the road or on the sidewalk that are also put at risk by the decision to talk on the phone while driving. And just to let someone know you'll be there in X minutes? Is that such a vital thing that it's worth risking lives just so they'll know when you'll be arriving? Are *any* of the reasons that anyone stated something that is worth risking people's lives? It baffles me, really. Not intending to insult anyone, I am just super surprised by the responses here.

I do have a cell phone and I *never* use it while driving.

Another thing I know I've heard with regards to talking on a cell being more dangerous than talking to a passenger is that the passenger is in the car with you and aware of what is happening. If the passenger sees something that's going to be a tricky driving situation, or a near accident, or unforeseen construction or whatever, they'll know to be quiet and let you drive. The person on the other end of the phone has no idea what's going on in traffic and certainly won't know when to be quiet and let you concentrate.

Jody
 

TheRealMacGyver

New member
I respect your opinion Jody, but I personally don't think it is the same as driving drunk (I know mythbusters said so, but who are they?) I think some people can handle it more than others. I was in sales and I had to be on the phone constantly, so I kind of mastered doing it. I always prioritize driving first andif the person on the other end has to repeat or wait for me they have always understood. I even tell people, you'll have to give me a minute, I'm kind of driving at the moment. There are many things people do while driving that are similar if not worse, such as: eating, putting on make-up, reading paper/book, changing CD's, changing the radio, looking/searching for something, or of course, dealing with a screaming child! I think it is just how each individual deals with it that makes it less/more dangerous. I hope I'm not upsetting anyone here, just my opinion.
 

twom

New member
I respect your opinion too, but I think we'll just have to agree to disagree on this issue. ;)
And it wasn't just MythBusters. If you read the article that papooses posted earlier in the discussion, this conclusion was also reached in a study that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Probably a much more credible source. :) Though to go along with what you were saying, perhaps different people have different tolerances, much like with alcohol.

Jody
 

TheRealMacGyver

New member
Jody, just wanted to let you know I went back and read that article. I guess I either missed it or just was in the middle of something, but I hadn't read it before. There is certainly some compelling arguments made for cell phone banning. I don't know maybe I'm just in denial or the exception, but I am skeptical of the data. I do see people everyday that are obviously affected by cell phone use, sometimes you can't help but see them! But hey, who am I to say, I appreciate your thoughts.
 

tjham

New member
Very rarely, and I won't pick up if it rings unless I'm stuck at a red light and know it will be red for a looonnnnggg time at some of the busiest intersections in town. And I'm notorious for rudely cutting off the call (usually it's just DH any way) when the light turns green, or putting it on hold until I can safely pull over or stop at the next red light. ;) The same for placing a call, almost never, and again while stopped at a light, or just pull off the road into a parking lot. Voice mail and missed calls are my friends and protectors. :)

This is me, almost exactly! ;)
 

solmama

Active member
I am guilty of talking on my cell while driving, once in a while. But it rarely happens. I try so hard not to be distracted since it seems so many other people are. One thing I've often wondered is why no one brings up smoking and driving...I mean, how on earth does one get a cigarette lit and still manage to drive? It's literally playing with fire!! Not only that, but proper disposal? of ashes? the cigarette? How do people smoke and drive? I've always wondered, just doesn't seems safe to me either. In any case, I try not to talk on my cell and I definitely don't smoke.
 

UlrikeDG

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
ARGH! Lately, I've noticed that every time someone cuts me off, the person is also talking on their cell phone. I want a jammer for my car that stops other people's cell phones from working if they get within 5' of my bumper! :mad:
 

Starlight

Senior Community Member
If the kids are being distracting to the driver, the driver can decide to pull over or exit the highway and pull over so that safety is preserved.

Everytime DS was very noisy in the car, I explained the situation to him while taking measures to make my family safe.

I also do not own a cell phone.

I did re-work our priorities so that our lives have less stress/less multi-tasking.

Life is precious.
I'd like to try that with my 13 month old, or my friends special needs kids. That'd work swell.
 

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