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Why the NTSB Is Wrong About Cellphones
YIAAL writes "After a multi-car pileup involving two school buses, the NTSB is urging states to ban all cellphones and personal electronic devices in cars, even hands-free phones. But on looking at the NTSB report, it appears that the big problem was a school bus driver who was following too closely, and another school bus driver who wasn't watching the road. Why is the NTSB targeting gadgets instead of bad drivers?"
Seriously, eating a Big Mac from the drive thru takes more concentration from the road than talking on the cell phone. This is just ignorance by the NTSB. I don't see them trying to ban drive thrus!
Generally very true. It's easier to be very good at anything if you can have a high degree of concentration/focus on it. "Rainman" was a good (but actually very uncommon) example of autism giving someone over-the-top focus and being able to perform stunning mental feats as a result. Of course most autistic people can't capitalize on their "gift" that well. Lots of discussion nowadays about how a lot of the "great people" of the past were "borderline autistic".
I've always felt I fit in that category, and I'd imagine a lot of "geeks" do. Not too good socially, reclusive, highly focused.
But getting closer to the root topic, cell phone use is like any other semiautomatic behavior. It can be done transparently with other things, or it can completely take over your thought process such that only very automatic behaviors can continue. Of course XKCD has covered this perfectly.
So everyone is that way, on different things. It's just a matter of to what degree your brain shuts down when you're trying to talk on the cell phone. I really don't think it has anything to do with formal multitasking. In my opinion, "multitasking" is the performing of more than one task that involves significant mental management at the same time. Autonomous things, like walking, don't count. You wouldn't count "walking and chewing gum" at the same time as multitasking because both walking and chewing can be done fairly well autonomously. Texting and walking OTOH, can get you into trouble because you typically take all higher control away from walking to text, and may walk into a pole as a result. Same thing happens when texting into a car... as long as nothing happens that your peripheral vision and subconscious reactions can't handle comes up. But if a deer runs out or a car swerves ahead, your subconscious may not be able to jar your attention from your phone. That's not really a multitasking failure, multitasking skills really can't help you with that. It's sort of like "muscle memory" but for mental things. And it's like cruise control, it can drive for you but you still have to steer, you can't expect it to do it all.
If you're going to do something like text and walk at the same time, safely, you have to look up frequently, and not get caught up in a series of replies that causes you to not look up during an extended period of time. I don't know what that skill is but I don't think it qualifies for "multitasking". Or maybe it does - and it's a case of these people not multitasking, but instead single-tasking and letting the other activity not be managed consciously. Call it "minortasking" maybe. You can't safely minortask driving while texting. You probably could safely multitask it, but that means you are constantly consciously managing your driving. I don't think too many people are good at that sort of thing though.
And so they want to make it illegal for everyone. I don't think I like that either. The basic mentality there is "if too many people can'd do xxx safely, we're going to make it illegal for anyone to do xxx". That looks ok until you're one of the (minority/few/whatever) that can (or I suppose, think you can) do it safely, and lose the right. There'll always be the argument that a lot of people think they can handle it but can't.
I don't think we'll ever be rid of arguments like this. Too many good arguments in too many different directions.
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
the correct answer is to move to the city.
Your fault for living thousands of miles away from everyone, and expecting the public to pay for a road to your house because you hate living next to other people.