Ryan H. Turner wrote:For me what's most infuriating about the government "nannies" that want to "protect" me FROM me by FORCING me to wear seat belts and helmets and knee pads and face protectors and God-knows what else they can stick their big fat noses into MY business about...is this...
So...congratulations...we've allowed the government to go ahead and shove more needless "nanny-isms" into our lives. Speed limits I'm good with. Stop signs...most of them I get. But please...leave me alone and let me talk on my flippin' phone without the need to have the worthless Bluetooth "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW...HOW ABOUT NOW??" system in my possession.
I think the goal here is to protect OTHER people FROM you. Pretty much the same with DUI checkpoints, you know? I mean, if you get liquored up and drive off a cliff and kill yourself... hey, Darwin Award. But if you plow into six other cars and kill four people including your passenger... well, I think you get my point.
As for the seat belts/helmets/etc... you're right, I don't think people should be FORCED to use those safety devices. I also don't think insurance companies should be FORCED to pay for the rehabilitation of people who couldn't be bothered with basic precautionary measures for their own safety. As soon as insurance policies are allowed to contain "escape" clauses that free the insurance companies of liability in such cases, I'll be all for repealing helmet and seat belt laws.
As for studies...
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration wrote:
Q. Does cell phone use while driving cause traffic crashes?
A. Research shows that driving while using a cell phone can pose a serious cognitive distraction and degrade driver performance. The data are insufficient to quantify crashes caused by cell phone use specifically, but NHTSA estimates that driver distraction from all sources contributes to 25 percent of all police-reported traffic crashes.
Q. Is it safe to use hands-free (headset, speakerphone, or other device) cell phones while driving?
A. The available research indicates that whether it is a hands-free or hand-held cell phone, the cognitive distraction is significant enough to degrade a driver’s performance. This can cause a driver to miss key visual and audio cues needed to avoid a crash.
Q. Is NHTSA conducting further research to better quantify the safety impact of using cell phones while driving?
A. NHTSA is conducting research projects on driver cell phone use and will continue to monitor the research of others on this subject. As we learn more about the impact of cell phone use on driver performance and crash risk, and as wireless technologies evolve and expand, NHTSA will make its findings public.
Q. Is talking on a cell phone any worse than having a conversation with someone in the car?
A. Any activity a driver engages while driving has the potential to distract the driver from the primary task of driving. Some research findings comparing cell phone use to passenger conversations while driving, show each to be equally risky, while others show cell phone use to be more risky. A significant difference between the two is the fact that a passenger can monitor the driving situation along with the driver and pause for, or alert the driver to, potential hazards, whereas a person on the other end of the phone line is unaware of the roadway situation.
Q. What do the studies say about the relative risk of cell phone use when compared to other tasks like eating or drinking?
A. The current research does not provide a definitive answer as to which behavior is riskier. In a controlled study, comparing eating and operating a voice-activated cell phone to continuously operating a CD player, it was found that the CD player operation was more distracting than the other activities. In a test track study conducted by NHTSA, the results showed that manual dialing was about as distracting as grooming/eating, but less distracting than reading or changing CDs. It is also important to keep in mind that some activities are carried out more frequently and for longer periods of time and may result in greater risk.