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Car Cellphone Bans Driving Bluetooth

jmatheny14 noted that the BBC is running an article about an unexpected side effect of car cellphone bans. It says"Legislation banning the use of mobile phones in cars is spurring car manufactures to look for alternatives such as Bluetooth." and "Because it can be used with a hands-free headset that can connect to a mobile phone even if the device is some distance away, it could be a perfect way to get around the ban."

15 of 208 comments (clear)

  1. This is going to take a while! by damu · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It is not just the fact that cellphone take one hand away from the wheel it is also the dialing, the looking for a phonenumber, the dropping your cell phone and looking for it under your seat, while keeping one eye on the road and the foot on a the pedal. Until, a car product can get rid of these "dangers" that cell phone cause, things will remain the same.

    dam(U)

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  2. Distraction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It isn't the actual holding of the cellphones that causes the danger, it just increases it. There was an experiment conducted, where a professional obstacle course driver was asked to count from 1 to 100 while navigating the course, and wasn't able to do it. His driving ability decreased by as much as 90% from simply counting. Bluetooth advancing is good and well, but not at the price of another increase in car accidents. As if drunk teens weren't enough....

    1. Re:Distraction by plumby · · Score: 5, Insightful
      From what I remember of the research, it showed that passengers are usually reasonably aware of what is going on on the road and will often stop talking to the driver if they detect danger, such as a busy junction, whereas the person on the other end of the phone has no knowledge of what is going on, and therefore cannot react in the same way.

      So the answer to your question is no (or at least not to the same extent).

  3. Not what drove me... by toupsie · · Score: 5, Informative
    Car Cellphone Bans Driving Bluetooth

    I bought an Ericsson T68i phone because of iSync and its connection to the phone via Bluetooth -- lets you also send SMS from the computer. Nothing sucks more about a cell phone than trying to use the keypad to enter phone book items. Plus the Ericsson T68 is pretty much a Palm killer with its Calendar and voice recorder.

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  4. Spirit of the law by aridhol · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Because it can be used with a hands-free headset that can connect to a mobile phone even if the device is some distance away, it could be a perfect way to get around the ban.
    OK, the law says you can't have a cell phone. There's probably a reason for this (safety?). Now, the manufacturers are trying to violate the spirit of the law while following the letter. While not technically illegal, it's still wrong.
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  5. Security by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Gives a whole new meaning to war driving.

    Pull up beside someone with a BlueTooth enabled phone and make a call.

  6. Re:Why? - b/c it's dangerous! by tchapin · · Score: 5, Informative
    Here's some interesting reading:

    People try to do way too many things while driving. I have a bad habit of talking on the phone, as well as switching CDs. Driving is difficult b/c it can be so unpredictable, and people lose sight of that fact. Here's some articles on use of telematics while driving:

    My company recently did a study on telematics use and driver/user attention, and it was pretty freaky how poorly people were able to attend to their main task while performing the secondary telematics task.

    Todd

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  7. Sheesh!! there is a reason cell phones are banned. by goombah99 · · Score: 5, Funny
    This is like saying "oh no officer I haven't been drinking, I've just been using an experimental hallucinogen that isn't listed as an illegal drug". There is a reason cell phones are banned, merely escaping on a technicality is not solving the problem. The problem is lack of driver attention. Hands free sets dont solve that either.

    it should just be a crime to drive inattentively or to create diversions for yourself.

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  8. More on the spirit of the law... by krinsh · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How many of you have your kids quiet in the car while driving? How many of you don't like driving with passengers because... they are a distraction? ANYTHING that distracts you from the most immediate and important task - DRIVING - should, pardon the pun, take an immediate and complete back seat to anything but driving when you are on the road. Hundreds upon hundreds of accidents each year should drill that concept into you. It's no wonder I see more and more luxury-class vehicle accidents than I do even drunk driving incidents anymore. High speed and cellphones are the new alcohol intoxication of today's highways.

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  9. Hands free not safer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    We should note studies such as this one that show hands free cell phones also cause dangerous distractions while driving.

    http://www.nsc.org/library/shelf/inincell.htm

    "In sum, we found that conversing on either a hand-held or hands-free cell phone led to significant decrements in simulated driving performance. We suggest that the cellular phone use disrupts performance by diverting attention to an engaging cognitive context other than the one immediately associated with driving.

    Our data suggest that legislative initiatives that restrict hand-held devices but permit hands-free devices are not likely to reduce interference from the phone conversation, because the interference is, in this case, due to central attentional processes."

  10. Hands-Free is Not a Panacea by herwin · · Score: 5, Informative

    Research indicates the problem with using a cell phone while driving is the distraction of conducting a phone conversation while also controlling a car, not the hands off the steering wheel. Drivers using a head-set experience the same increase in accident rate (to a level similar to driving drunk) as drivers using a cell-phone. See this legal discussion.

  11. Barking up the wrong tree by Cutriss · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Legislation banning the use of mobile phones in cars is spurring car manufactures to look for alternatives such as Bluetooth.

    Gee...it's too bad their vision is sp clouded by dollar signs that they can't see what the customer *really* wants.

    Why do people talk on cellphones? Because they want to be more productive...whether it's just chatting with a friend about whatever, or talking to the spouse about what to pick up at the store, or getting your ass chewed by the boss for missing a deadline...Cellphones are useful because they allow us to be productive during time when life is otherwise wasted.

    Hold your screams for a minute.

    I attend college around five hours from my hometown. Whenever me and my girlfriend decide we want to go home for the weekend, that 48 hour weekend is chopped down to 38 hours, since we lose 10 hours in travel time. That's time that I can't do anything useful with...study, read, play a game, nothing.

    Perhaps automobile manufacturers should get past the marketing hype and actually market a feature that customers want and have been sociologically clamoring for the last decade - Self-driving cars. I would easily pay double the price of a current car model to get a car that drives without my assistance or attention. Think about how much time you lose in a year to driving. You could be working in the car on the way to the office and counting it as your work time. You could be spending time with your family while you're on the way to see the parents. You could be watching a movie while you're in the middle of a boring ten-hour drive to San Antonio or whatever.

    This is a really stupid move on the part of car manufacturers, as it shows them trying to solve customer needs on the path of least resistance. I think they're approaching the problem from the wrong end, though. We have the technology to solve the problem...and with economies 'round the world in the crapper, this would be an *ideal* way to jumpstart the manufacturing sector. Self-driving cars would reduce insurance premiums, make roadways safer, and increase quality of life. How many people do you know that would instantly go out and buy a new car to get this wasted time back? I know I would...

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    1. Re:Barking up the wrong tree by Hanno · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Perhaps automobile manufacturers should get past the marketing hype and actually market a feature that customers want and have been sociologically clamoring for the last decade - Self-driving cars.

      It's called a railway train and it's been around since a few decades. A subway and a bus also does what you look for.

      Now I know that the railway system in Northern America stinks, but here in Europe, you'd be surprised how good it actually is. Fast, modern, not too pricy (although I wouldn't mind a price cut).

      I'm 30, I live in Hamburg, I have a small company, I travel a lot within Germany (to both big and small cities), I have a driver's license but I don't own a car. I don't expect to buy a car at least within the next five years.

      Trains do everything I need for distant travels. The Hamburg tram and bus system does everything I want for local travel except when I have to transport some heavy object e.g. furniture. That's when I rent a car or ask a friend for help.

      And when train, tram, subway and bus don't reach the place I want to go to, I hop on a taxi.

      So far, the costs are much lower than owning a car in Germany (fuel, insurances, maintenace, etc.), but I guess that owning a car is significantly cheaper in the US, so it's tough to compare.

      That's time that I can't do anything useful with...study, read, play a game, nothing.

      That's exactly why I like not having a car. Leave the driving to someone else, I just work a little on my laptop or bring my pillow and rest a few hours.

      market a feature that customers want and have been sociologically clamoring for the last decade

      Do customers want this and did they clamor for it for the last decade? Because if they did, the bigger US cities would have a much better public transportation system, Amtrak wouldn't suck and Greyhound buses wouldn't be the poor man's ride they are today.

      (I know what I talk about. I had a 8 week trip through the US on a Greyhound ticket. It was fun and the bus system isn't actually bad, but no average US citizen would want to see as an alternative to having a car.)

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  12. The trouble is not found in the handset by Brother+Fjordhr · · Score: 5, Informative

    The trouble with cell phone safety is not in the nature of the handset (or hands free set) it is in the conditioned response to phone calls. All this article seems to be pushing is another hands free approach to cell phones. This article http://http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1885775.stm reports that, "hands-free kits were almost as dangerous as hand-held phones."

    The point of this article is that, "Reaction and stopping times were much slower Talking on a mobile phone while driving is more dangerous than being over the legal alcohol limit, according to research."

    This article http://http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/n ews/2001/01/25/Consumers/cellphones_study010125 provides this quote on the issue

    "The bandwidth of the brain is actually quite limited," says Dr. John Vavrick, the research psychologist in charge of the study.

    "Time sharing and multi-tasking does not come easily to the human brain."

    The study used 41 drivers and gave each a series of tests to perform while answering questions through a speaker in the car.

    Researchers found the driver's mental state was equally affected whether he or she was using a hands-free phone or not.

    This is just a small sampling of the articles of the danger presented by using a cellphone while driving. The risk just isn't worth it, hang up and drive!.

  13. If you think that cell phone and driving mix well. by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...try this.

    Crank up your fave FPS or driving simulator. Get really into it. Mark down how soon you crash/get killed out.

    Now call someone and try to have a meaningful talk on the hone with them while playing the same game. Now see how fast you get killed out.

    Behind the wheel of your car, there is no "reset".