wnjj wrote:
jplante4 wrote:
The trouble is that driving does not lend itself to multitasking. Tasks need to be interruptible or timed sliced. Just look at the compute power needed for an autonomous vehicle.
Driving can be time sliced. For example you don't always look at the road when you take a second to check the mirrors or gauges. In theory you could spend these same split seconds glancing at text or pressing a digit to dial but the problem is in the reality. Many do not or will not give the proper priority to the immediate driving tasks. From my experience this is where a good police officer can safely drive, listen to two different 2-way radios and observe others outside the car "simultaneously". A good officer has trained him/herself to always take in little bits of each in a round robin fashion so the highest priority can be addressed.
It's also why I personally believe most of those studies that compare cell phone usage to drunk driving aren't fair. The ones I've read about are contrived by requiring the participant to compute tasks or remember specific conversation content while driving. In reality a conversation could be "paused" or have stuff repeated if the driving demanded more immediate attention. Like I said before, sitting stopped in traffic isn't a safety concern and most could carry on a conversation fine while doing so. Similarly parts of my rural drive home have sections without so much as a driveway and fields on both sides. That part of my driving doesn't demand full attention either.
As for all of the complaints like "every time I see someone driving like X, they have a cell phone". That in itself is a biased sample because you do not see all of those who are driving just fine while using their phone. I've been sure someone was using their phone based upon their bad driving but it turns out they weren't. When you're sure that cell phones are the cause of all traffic evil, every time you see someone with one driving poorly it reinforces that thought. I'll repeat what I said earlier: Poor drivers with phones are already poor drivers without.
The problem I have with these kinds of laws is they are one size fits all and while they seem to correlate to safety improvements, they cast a wide net to do so.
You are just so wrong!
Glancing at gauges, in the mirrors, etc.for a split second is PART of driving. Texting isn't. And no one looks at a text for a split second. No one.
No one pauses a conversation while driving. At least very few do anyway.
We already discussed texting at a light and the delay it creates when the light turns green. Ok, not safety related for the person texting, but it makes others do irrational things to get through a light because they're delayed.
As for being able to tell who is on the phone while driving, almost everyone on the phone is a horrible driver. My daily commute takes me on an interstate for 15 miles each way. Yeah, there are bad drivers who are not on the phone, but the majority of the ones on the phone are erratic. I glance around while commuting, I notice these things.
The problem with people who think they can safely drive and use a cell phone is they effect others. It may be as small as an inconvenience at a light or as serious as killing someone else with their own selfish behavior.
