Cellphones and driving [Telecom]

If my phone rings while I'm driving, I just take it out of my shirt pocket and hand it to my wife without looking at it. She takes the call for me. If I happen to be in the middle of merging or something requiring great concentration, I let it ring, but then hand it to her a minute later so she can find out who called, and call back while I continue to drive.

You need to either explain why I shouldn't be able to do that, or explain how your solution will allow me to continue to do that.

Lee

Actually, we don't need to. There are a lot of things in life that are sufficiently hazardous when done by the great majority of people that we make them illegal for everyone and anyone, at least on public property, even if some very small minority of people are capable of doing them without causing hazard to others.

[You can phone or text or play the accordion while driving at any speed your car can achieve -- if you do it on your own private property.]

What!?! I would imagine it's the other way around: it's a small minority of drivers who would cause a hazard to others if they attempt to hand a ringing phone to somebody else in the car.

What if to appease you the driver were to hand the phone to another passenger before leaving the driveway, in case it rings while the car is in motion? Do you think that the vast majority of drivers would somehow cause a hazard to others if a passenger answers the phone while the car is in motion?

Given your logic, we should take radios out of police cars and taxi cabs, since we can't allow the minority to do something that's hazardous for the majority to do. (I would settle for making driving tests more thorough, including testing whether the driver can deal with distraction.)

Lee

I search my archives and it doesn't appear I've mentioned something here. I came across this piece the other day:

the author says "I look to my left through the passenger window and the driver has got a skilsaw out in his right hand and he's operating it while driving."

I am willing to bet there isn't a jurisdiction on the planet that has outlawed using a skilsaw while driving. So we've banned cell phones and now we've banned using power tools. So what about the guy who decides it's his inalienable right to have a fondue pot full of boiling oil bubbling on his dashboard as he drives? Or the woman who does her ironing on the way to work. Human stupidity will always stay one step ahead of the law books. Which is why I keep coming back to hold drivers strictly accountable for crashes they cause. If I know I will likely face loss of license, stiff fines, even jail time for causing a crash I'm going to think twice before I pull out my cell, cut 2 x 4's, or teach myself to juggle while driving.

John

Most of us don't always have our spouse in the car.

But even for those rare souls who do, you need to explain how to get the other 95% of drivers to exercise such exemplary responsibility. If you've observed at all, you know that most drivers do not. Some of them even wave their hands as they talk :(

Dave

[That's] distorting the context to create an irrelevant strawman argument. The discussion was about the ability to deal with cell phone calls while driving, not whether it's safe to hand your phone to someone else. You have a solution which apparently works for you (although unless the phone is already out of your pocket I would still claim it's not safe).

The universe does not revolve around you (or me). There are many instances where we must suffer such inconveniences because while you or I may be capable of doing something safely, they had to enact laws to protect us from the other 99.99% of the population that can't.

john-