If I could (or had to) ban texting in one place ...
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Re:Why ban in cars? (Score:3, Informative)
Banning texting in cars makes no sense if the "texter" is not the "driver".
Wasn't that kinda implied in the option? Writing it as: "I'd start with cars, specifically with the driver of the cars in question, but not necessarily the passengers riding in, but not controlling, the aforementioned cars," seems a little awkward, even if it is for the sake of making the option less potentially ambiguous?
Oh, right. This is Slashdot.
Re:Why ban in cars? (Score:5, Informative)
As is often the case, the original poster did not get into the nitty-gritty details of the law, and you've raised a lot of objections that do not apply.
http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/distracteddriving.htm [alberta.ca]
Restricts drivers from:
using hand-held cell phones
texting or e-mailing
using electronic devices like laptop computers, video games, cameras, video entertainment displays and programming portable audio players (e.g., MP3 players)
entering information on GPS units
So - dedicated GPS navigator? Mount it on the dashboard and you're fine. Display alerts from the car? Again, mount the phone, don't hold it in your hand, and no problem. Want to talk on the phone? Use a headset, or those fancy through-the-car speakerphone connections, and you're fine.
Calling to report a crash on a no-stop highway? Unless you've got a hands-free method of doing so, this is arguably dangerous enough that you're going to cause more accidents, so it is not permitted. If you care that much, take the next exit and then call in the crash.
Basically, if a cop sees you holding your phone up to your head and talking, or holding it in front of you and fiddling with it, then that's distracted driving. It doesn't matter if you're checking your voicemail or talking to someone. It doesn't matter if you're texting or playing Bejeweled. It's something that you shouldn't do while in control of an automobile, so it is against the law, and will garner you a $172 fine in Alberta.
Bullshit (Score:5, Informative)
Human factors engineer working crew systems for aircraft. You don't pay attention nearly as much as you think you do. That 1% is much closer to 40-50%. The real problem is how long you're distracted at a time, not what fraction of the time you're distracted.
Re:Why ban in cars? (Score:5, Informative)
Even when you're not concentrating (and nobody concentrates 100% on driving all the time, it's near impossible for normal people, i.e. non F1 drivers) - your eyes are still pointed at the road, hands are on the wheel, and your ears are free. While we might not be giving driving our full attention, if something DOES trip our 'oh shiit!' reaction - and we're pretty good at that - we can rapidly spin back up to full alert, including a healthy dose of adrenaline; not always fast enough, especially if we're speeding (because speed limits are based in part upon human reaction times) but it gives us a reasonable chance of reacting to events.
If your eyes aren't on the road for several seconds at a time or even longer, you may well miss one of those cues until well, it's too late to react in time. If your eyes are spending more time than a quick flick - aka the mirror-scan timescale - not looking where you're going, then you're going to be much more likely to have a crash. Whether you're texting, screwing with changing the MP3 player with your eyes off the road, poking at the GPS, yelling over your shoulder at the kids in the back, it's distracted driving and you're more dangerous to yourself and everyone else around you.