You stupid f***ing cell phone users, stay off the roads.

[thetrilogy]

Not one more life should be endangered or lost because
of these stupid, inconsiderate, MF cell phone asswholes.

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=3134389&nav=5UaiXzVy

[rkmsuf]

Cell phones are stupid anyway.

Totally unnecessary unless you are on a trip or are emergency/police people.

For everyday life it's pointless. At least the way they are used now.

[Fritz]

cbs too. motherf*ckin' truckers!

[rkmsuf]

cbs too. motherf*ckin' truckers!

How are they to arrange their bathroom breaks?

[jeff061]

I've always been a tech head.

I bought my first Cell ever couple days ago, never saw the point. I have it mostly for work purposes. Right now its a crap load of computers I need to support by myself and I'm not staying in the office from 6am-7pm just in case something goes wrong.

[Passacaglia]

If you've ever been charged $200 for one day of service by Ameritech, cell phones begin to look pretty good.

[Lathum]

It always cracks me up when I tell people I didn't have a cell phone ( I have one for work now)

Their reaction is always on of " how can you live without a cellphone"

I managed without one for 28 years and did just fine

shrug

[rkmsuf]

I've always been a tech head.

I bought my first Cell ever couple days ago, never saw the point. I have it mostly for work purposes. Right now its a crap load of computers I need to support by myself and I'm not staying in the office from 6am-7pm just in case something goes wrong.

That makes sense. Wandering around the supermarket saying "uh I'm in the bread aisle now " or "Yeah, hey I'm driving" is assinine.

I guess if it's your primary phone it makes sense too but you should be forced to leave it at home.

[st.cronin]

It always cracks me up when I tell people I didn't have a cell phone ( I have one for work now)

Their reaction is always on of " how can you live without a cellphone"

I managed without one for 28 years and did just fine

shrug

Ditto. The dumbest social trend in america is the idea that you HAVE to have a cell phone. People get angry sometimes because they can't call me up whenever they want... which is fine with me.

[rkmsuf]

Ditto. The dumbest social trend in america is the idea that you HAVE to have a cell phone. People get angry sometimes because they can't call me up whenever they want... which is fine with me.

I get that too. Dumbfounds me. The whole "what's your cell phone number?" and the look on their faces when I say "none". Priceless.

I feel like saying, trust me I can wait to get your message.

[albionmoonlight]

As Garrison Keeler said, "every cell phone conversation ever had can be summarized as follows: 'I'm here now; I'm on my way there; I'll be there in about a half hour.'"

[panerd]

Hey I am not a fan of the idiots who drive with cell phones and cause accidents, but this thread seems to be spiraling out of control. I have a cell phone instead of a home phone and it is about $25 cheaper a month then the racket SBC had going here for years. Sure as hell makes it easier to meet up with friends downtown, or tell the girlfriend/wife you are running late, or give to a kid to call for a ride from soccer practice. I could go on, but you guys seem to have a small dick complex just because you don't have a cell phone that they serve no purpose.

[Hurst2112]

Cell phones are stupid anyway.

Totally unnecessary unless you are on a trip or are emergency/police people.

For everyday life it's pointless. At least the way they are used now.

Let's see:

Wrong

You got a point

Wrong

Possibly

I can live without a cell phone, but I don't wish to. It's extremely handy. I don't have a land line, and haven't for about 5 years. I got sick of paying for stupid charges and extra for long distance.

I have gotten jobs because I HAVE had a cell phone. Engineer was supposed to do a session, boss couldn't get in touch with him (he didn't have a cell phone) called me on my cell phone (wife and I were looking at new cars, started working the same day. The 50 dollars a month I paid for my phone got me $1700 in my pocket.

[Hurst2112]

Hey I am not a fan of the idiots who drive with cell phones and cause accidents, but this thread seems to be spiraling out of control. I have a cell phone instead of a home phone and it is about $25 cheaper a month then the racket SBC had going here for years. Sure as hell makes it easier to meet up with friends downtown, or tell the girlfriend/wife you are running late, or give to a kid to call for a ride from soccer practice. I could go on, but you guys seem to have a small dick complex just because you don't have a cell phone that they serve no purpose.

I thought 'small dick complex' only worked for guys with a lot of tattoos, big trucks, fancy cars and expensive car stereos. And the ever popular short angry guy you see in the bar.

:D

[Subby]

I hope we can all agree that the only things more annoying than cellphone users are the crotchety old bastards that complain about them...

[Hurst2112]

I make fun of people with pagers, that's about it. I HATE it when they try to look at their pages while driving!!!

[gstelmack]

I'm with Panerd. My wife and I got cell phones as soon as she got pregnant with our first kid. It's come in very handy. We don't give our number out to everyone, we only use it to deal with errands/kid/and the like.

As for the phone company racket, I'm looking into what to do about our landline right now. Once I can figure out what to do about DirecTV and the DirecTIVO (yeah, I know I can hack them, but I'm not quite willing to do that yet) I may well have Vonage. $25/month (plus whatever for 911 service) vs. $70/month is a no-brainer. The phone companies are going to be in serious trouble...

[Radii]

I have a cell phone instead of a land line. I like it.

I probably make about 3 or 4 calls a week to oliegirl to take advantage of the convienance factor. I make about 5 calls a month to my parents or to friends just to say hi.

Cell phones are totally unnecessary, and there are days when I forget mine, it certainly doesn't bother me if that happens.

the attitude that everyone should be reachable at all times is one I disagree with, though I do keep my cell phone on me at all times simply b/c my wife does feel that everyone should be reachable at all times, and its easier to just keep my phone on me :D


But anyway, I do like not having a land line, it saves us money.

[primelord]

I think WSUCougar made a thread simialr to this awhile ago and I commented in there that people talking all cell phones while driving isn't always such a clear cut issue. I used to design and implement wireless networks for a company a few years ago. I would often be on my way to a site and have to take calls from my boss and or customers while I was on the road.

I think several people commented that in situations like that you should pull over to the side of the road or just tell your boss you refuse to talk while driving. These both sound fine in principal, btu when you have two upset customers and you are supposed to be at X site in 10 minutes there are only so many things you can do. It is easy to take the moral high ground and say you would refuse to talk while driving when you aren't put in that situation, but it is another thing entirely when you have a family to support and your job "requires" it.

Luckily I am no longer with that compnay and my current job doesn't require me to really ever be on the cell phone let alone when driving. So this isn't an issue for me anymore and I understand that a large portion of the people talking on cell phones while driving probably aren't doing it for work related reasons. I just wanted to comment that I don;t think it is always as simple as just expecting these people not to do it.

[thetrilogy]

There is absolutely NO need to be on a cell phone while driving.
Pay attention to what the f**k you are doing.

[cuervo72]

As the father of a 5 year old boy, this saddens me...

[rkmsuf]

I guess I just see too many people with it strapped to their ear 12 hours a day and constantly checking to see if they missed something.

I have no problem with the concept or convienience or securtiy. It's the I have to be reachable mentality that annoys me.

I have one but it's just there in case I need it. I have a land line so I've made probably 2 calls on it in the last 2 months.

If it's your primary phone, well that's another matter. But you find tons of people that think you are weird or square if you are not carrying a cellphone.

[stevew]

Vonage is awesome. Until they inevitably tax the fuck out of it.

[panerd]

As for the phone company racket, I'm looking into what to do about our landline right now. Once I can figure out what to do about DirecTV and the DirecTIVO (yeah, I know I can hack them, but I'm not quite willing to do that yet) I may well have Vonage. $25/month (plus whatever for 911 service) vs. $70/month is a no-brainer. The phone companies are going to be in serious trouble...

I can only speak for my experience, but I had Directv for about a year without a phone line. I just couldn't order pay-per-view, everything else is a one way connection anyways. I have also heard that TIVO works the same way, but can't personally confirm this.

As far as the phone company goes, you have to dump them. I live about 20 miles southwest of Saint Louis and the phone company charged a $20 a month fee to call into the metro area. (where most of my friends and family live) Well this may have made sense 30 years ago when they were laying the lines, now it is just a monopoly out of control. They tried to get me back when I dropped the service but can't understand why for $35 a month I can basically call anywhere from anywhere in the United States but for $35 from them I have to make toll calls to St. Louis. I hope for all of the jobs the are poised to lose that someone at the phone company gets a clue!

[Honolulu_Blue]

I hope we can all agree that the only things more annoying than cellphone users are the crotchety old bastards that complain about them...
Agreed.

I think it should be illegal to drive and talk on a cellphone. It's incredibly dangerous. But cellphones themselves are pretty handy.

[rkmsuf]

I think WSUCougar made a thread simialr to this awhile ago and I commented in there that people talking all cell phones while driving isn't always such a clear cut issue. I used to design and implement wireless networks for a company a few years ago. I would often be on my way to a site and have to take calls from my boss and or customers while I was on the road.

I think several people commented that in situations like that you should pull over to the side of the road or just tell your boss you refuse to talk while driving. These both sound fine in principal, btu when you have two upset customers and you are supposed to be at X site in 10 minutes there are only so many things you can do. It is easy to take the moral high ground and say you would refuse to talk while driving when you aren't put in that situation, but it is another thing entirely when you have a family to support and your job "requires" it.

Luckily I am no longer with that compnay and my current job doesn't require me to really ever be on the cell phone let alone when driving. So this isn't an issue for me anymore and I understand that a large portion of the people talking on cell phones while driving probably aren't doing it for work related reasons. I just wanted to comment that I don;t think it is always as simple as just expecting these people not to do it.

Right but it's a self created situation by humans. It's not enough now to tell your customer, I'll be there in an hour.

It's not enough now to say "honey I'll be home around 7". You get a call asking where you are at.

[st.cronin]

I'm pretty sure it *is* illegal to drive and use a cellphone, at least in most states.

[Subby]

There is absolutely NO need to be on a cell phone while driving. Pay attention to what the f**k you are doing.You know, it *is* possible to talk on a cell phone and pay attention while driving...

[mrsimperless]

I don't agree with the idea of making talking on a cell phone while driving illegal. What about talking to another passenger in the car? Eating? Changing radio stations? Picking up something off the floor? Handing something to a child in the back seat? Daydreaming? All of these things are potentially dangerous and can cause accidents. Do we make them all illegal?

[panerd]

I guess I just see too many people with it strapped to their ear 12 hours a day and constantly checking to see if they missed something.

I have no problem with the concept or convienience or securtiy. It's the I have to be reachable mentality that annoys me.

I have one but it's just there in case I need it. I have a land line so I've made probably 2 calls on it in the last 2 months.

If it's your primary phone, well that's another matter. But you find tons of people that think you are weird or square if you are not carrying a cellphone.

I will agree with this. I have friends that will constantly check their phones for messages when they are hanging out with 95% of their friends at the time! But these type of people will always find something annoying to do to make themselves look important, so I don't know that it is the fault of the cell phone.

[condors]

I hate phones, i will rarely answer mine(my dad long distance sometimes my brother or sister) my friends know to email me in advance if they want to set something up, or just stop by and we can see whats going on. work a job where you phone rings 100 times a day and you may not want to answer one or talk on one when you get home. The wife will answer the phone and has a cell phone so i wouldn't call me complelety unreachable and i have one for work (if i am not on call i don't have it on and nobody knows i have it)

[Radii]

I can only speak for my experience, but I had Directv for about a year without a phone line. I just couldn't order pay-per-view, everything else is a one way connection anyways. I have also heard that TIVO works the same way, but can't personally confirm this.



Yup, we have DirectTV and Tivo and no phone line. We took the box to our old apartment when we first got it and set it up on the phone line there, that's the only time we ever needed it.

We can even get pay per view, we just have to order it online on the website instead of through the TV.

[WSUCougar]

I think WSUCougar made a thread similar to this awhile ago and I commented in there that people talking all cell phones while driving isn't always such a clear cut issue.
You mean THIS ONE? (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?t=22057)

As I've said before, you can justify the use of cell phones while driving, and I'm sure there are many examples of responsible people who can and do use them safely all the time.

What you cannot convince me of, however, is that in general cell phone usage among drivers is not a serious and dangerous plague upon our roads. Almost every single day I see obvious instances of its hazards. Almost every single day - and I'm not purposefully trying to find them. Sometimes, while I'm waiting at a left turn light, the number of drivers going by with phones stuck to their ears will far outnumber those without. It's truly scary.

Just my opinion.

[primelord]

Right but it's a self created situation by humans. It's not enough now to tell your customer, I'll be there in an hour.

It's not enough now to say "honey I'll be home around 7". You get a call asking where you are at.
I agree that is the problem. People make comments a lot like "Businesses used to get by without cell phones before why can't they now". There are two problems there. 1) As you pointed out they have set the expectation level higher now for their customers. Customers expect faster service and to be able to reach you at any time. 2) There will always be at least one company willing to use cell phones in this manner to get an edge. So that forces all competeing companies to do the same.

The resolution to this problem (in the business world) would be for all companies to agree to stop participating in it and for all customers to accept a lesser level of service because of it. Neither one of those things is going to happen. The only other way I see a real solution to this is if they do make it illegal to talk and drive in every state and they start enforcing it.

[rkmsuf]

I agree that is the problem. People make comments a lot like "Businesses used to get by without cell phones before why can't they now". There are two problems there. 1) As you pointed out they have set the expectation level higher now for their customers. Customers expect faster service and to be able to reach you at any time. 2) There will always be at least one company willing to use cell phones in this manner to get an edge. So that forces all competeing companies to do the same.

The resolution to this problem (in the business world) would be for all companies to agree to stop participating in it and for all customers to accept a lesser level of service because of it. Neither one of those things is going to happen. The only other way I see a real solution to this is if they do make it illegal to talk and drive in every state and they start enforcing it.

You are correct. There is no way around it now. I speak idealistically and not realistically.

I guess that's why everyone turns into old bastards. The 30-40 crowd now can't believe the speed of information and technology. The teens to 30 can't believe it never existed.

Fast forward 40 years and at 80 we'll just shake our head and go play shuffleboard while the 30-40 group doesn't understand why you need anything else but cell phones. The teens to 30 will wonder how we survived with just cell phones.

[sterlingice]

If you've ever been charged $200 for one day of service by Ameritech, cell phones begin to look pretty good.
How the hell did you rack up a $200 Ameritech charge? I though they were an ISP. Were you connecting through your cellphone or something?

SI

[Ksyrup]

How the hell did you rack up a $200 Ameritech charge? I though they were an ISP. Were you connecting through your cellphone or something?

SI
Speaking of which, I'm probably going to have to move to a blackberry-type phone soon. How much extra is the email/browsing service going to cost me a month?

[Karlifornia]

This reminds me of a comedy bit I heard:

"Nowadays, cell phones are pretty widely accepted, but a couple of years ago they weren't. Every time I'd answer my cell there'd always be that one person giving me a dirty look.....Was this person doing that for every invention? What about the umbrella? 'Oh, I'm not scared of getting wet!' "

Or something like that....

[sterlingice]

I hope we can all agree that the only things more annoying than cellphone users are the crotchety old bastards that complain about them...
Get Off My Lawn!

SI

[Hurst2112]

How the hell did you rack up a $200 Ameritech charge? I though they were an ISP. Were you connecting through your cellphone or something?

Ameritech is a phone service in Wisconsin (and maybe illinois too). It was about 5 years ago anyway. I think it still is the main one there.

[Ksyrup]

I do not use my cell phone all that much, but I find it extremely useful and comforting with a wife and two kids. You never know what could happen. And, if nothing else, it comes in very handy. If I go to the store to pick up 4 items, and the wife forgets to tell me to pick up the 5th, it's certainly not life and death to have to go back out to the store, but it's also very nice to be able to find that information out while walking around the store.

[sterlingice]

You know, it *is* possible to talk on a cell phone and pay attention while driving...
As I've said before, you can justify the use of cell phones while driving, and I'm sure there are many examples of responsible people who can and do use them safely all the time.

What you cannot convince me of, however, is that in general cell phone usage among drivers is not a serious and dangerous plague upon our roads. Almost every single day I see obvious instances of its hazards. Almost every single day - and I'm not purposefully trying to find them. Sometimes, while I'm waiting at a left turn light, the number of drivers going by with phones stuck to their ears will far outnumber those without. It's truly scary.

Just my opinion.
Exactly- you *can* drive safely with a cell phone. Very rarely do people do this.

SI

[Desnudo]

You are correct. There is no way around it now. I speak idealistically and not realistically.

I guess that's why everyone turns into old bastards. The 30-40 crowd now can't believe the speed of information and technology. The teens to 30 can't believe it never existed.

Fast forward 40 years and at 80 we'll just shake our head and go play shuffleboard while the 30-40 group doesn't understand why you need anything else but cell phones. The teens to 30 will wonder how we survived with just cell phones.

You won't need cell phones when your 80. Everyone will have Microsoft communication nanobots in their body.

[rkmsuf]

You won't need cell phones when your 80. Everyone will have Microsoft communication nanobots in their body.

I will resist even if futile.

[Desnudo]

I find it amazing that some people think driving with one hand while talking on the phone with another isn't a big distraction. Driving isn't like getting a carton of milk out of the fridge.

[Hurst2112]

You won't need cell phones when your 80. Everyone will have Microsoft communication nanobots in their body.

Stupid mark of the beast (in my best Homer Simpson voice).

[panerd]

Do you think we will need napkins in the future, or is this whole mouth-vacuum thing for real?

[rkmsuf]

I find it amazing that some people think driving with one hand while talking on the phone with another isn't a big distraction. Driving isn't like getting a carton of milk out of the fridge.

I don't think it's the physical act. Many people drive with one hand anyway.

It's the mental energy into listening, planning a response and responding that occupys the mind.

For some reason the phone and phone conversation occupys more of your attention than the radio, passengers or eating. Someone smarter than me might be able to explain it.

[st.cronin]

You people are all going to die of brain cancer.

[hhiipp]

nm

[rkmsuf]

Do you think we will need napkins in the future, or is this whole mouth-vacuum thing for real?

I'll be happy when the make your own pizza shop opens.

[Desnudo]

I don't think it's the physical act. Many people drive with one hand anyway.

It's the mental energy into listening, planning a response and responding that occupys the mind.

For some reason the phone and phone conversation occupys more of your attention than the radio, passengers or eating. Someone smarter than me might be able to explain it.

I understand that aspect of it. I've seen the studies where people react much more slowly talking on cell phones versus talking to someone sitting next to them. But, there's a more a immediate, physical danger too. For example, an ex-girlfriend of mine use to gab on a cell phone while driving around town with a stick shift. Immediately annoying, in any case, which is why she's an ex. So every time she wanted to shift, the cell phone went between the shoulder and ear. And forget about using the turn signal at the same time. I drove as often as possible.

[Marc Vaughan]

Errr - hands free kit anyone? ... (I'm presuming that America is the same as the UK as in talking on a mobile/cell phone is illegal while driving but using a hands-free kit is fine (as its basically the same as talking to someone in the car).

These days you can even dial using voice so it needn't interupt driving at all.

PS> Do American phones have texting ability? (ie. send text messages to other people ala email) - I know they didn't when I worked over there, but I wondered if it'd been integrated yet (it happened as a happy accident in the UK and has turned into a multi-million pound industry).

[Ksyrup]

You people are all going to die of brain cancer.
As for adults, that's pretty much been rejected. But recently, there have been studies suggesting that kids younger than 8 or 10 could be at risk. I'm not sure how much they would have to use one to have an effect (if any), but my daughter uses it to talk to her grandparents (cell phone is our long distance plan). Problem is, they need 30-40 years to study a lifespan to determine the effect, so who knows what the answer is.

[Hurst2112]

I don't think it's the physical act. Many people drive with one hand anyway.


For some reason the phone and phone conversation occupys more of your attention than the radio, passengers or eating. Someone smarter than me might be able to explain it.

Ah, the good old days...before cell phones. I used to pride myself on being able to drive and roll a joint at the same time in high school.

It was more knee driving for me.

;) :D

[st.cronin]

As for adults, that's pretty much been rejected.

It's been mostly rejected on a theoretical level, but there aren't any long range studies yet, because cell phones haven't been around long enough to do any.

[rkmsuf]

Ah, the good old days...before cell phones. I used to pride myself on being able to drive and roll a joint at the same time in high school.

It was more knee driving for me.

;) :D

See, cell phones are more dangerous than weed and knee driving.

[Desnudo]

Plus, I'm sure the accident rate drops substantially at <20 MPH.

[Hurst2112]

See, cell phones are more dangerous than weed and knee driving.

Touche!

Good thing I gave up both!

[rkmsuf]

Touche!

Good thing I gave up both!

Or you are really a Jedi and just don't know it.

[henry296]

Errr - hands free kit anyone? ... (I'm presuming that America is the same as the UK as in talking on a mobile/cell phone is illegal while driving but using a hands-free kit is fine (as its basically the same as talking to someone in the car).

These days you can even dial using voice so it needn't interupt driving at all.

PS> Do American phones have texting ability? (ie. send text messages to other people ala email) - I know they didn't when I worked over there, but I wondered if it'd been integrated yet (it happened as a happy accident in the UK and has turned into a multi-million pound industry).

Only certain states (New York) is it illegal to drive while not using a hands free kit.

We do have text messaging as well.

[Lathum]

Hey I am not a fan of the idiots who drive with cell phones and cause accidents, but this thread seems to be spiraling out of control. I have a cell phone instead of a home phone and it is about $25 cheaper a month then the racket SBC had going here for years. Sure as hell makes it easier to meet up with friends downtown, or tell the girlfriend/wife you are running late, or give to a kid to call for a ride from soccer practice. I could go on, but you guys seem to have a small dick complex just because you don't have a cell phone that they serve no purpose.
I have a cell phone and I think it does serve a purpose. There are still a couple of things that irritate me about them.

1. People seem to look at them as a necessity which they are not, they are a convince. There is a big difference there.
2. I don’t have a “small dick complex” the problem I have is with the 21 year old kid almost killing me because he was on his phone. Or when I’m at the movie’s and peoples cell phones ring which happens at least 3 times a show. Or when my plane lands and you hear 100 people rush to get to their phone just so they can inform the people waiting for them at the gate that the plane landed. Duh. Or when I’m at a bar or restaurant and someone is using their Nextel so everyone in the place can hear their conversation. Or….I can keep going

Cellphones have evolved to be at best a basic necessity, however they are way overused. Explain to me why a 13 year old kid needs a phone? I had to beg to get a phone in my bedroom when I was 14 and that was a distraction enough, forget it if I had a cellphone.


End rant

[BrianD]

Errr - hands free kit anyone? ... (I'm presuming that America is the same as the UK as in talking on a mobile/cell phone is illegal while driving but using a hands-free kit is fine (as its basically the same as talking to someone in the car).

These days you can even dial using voice so it needn't interupt driving at all.

PS> Do American phones have texting ability? (ie. send text messages to other people ala email) - I know they didn't when I worked over there, but I wondered if it'd been integrated yet (it happened as a happy accident in the UK and has turned into a multi-million pound industry).

Doesn't seem to matter:

http://www.nsc.org/library/shelf/inincell.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/01/030129080944.htm

[Desnudo]

I have a cell phone and I think it does serve a purpose. There are still a couple of things that irritate me about them.

1. People seem to look at them as a necessity which they are not, they are a convince. There is a big difference there.
2. I don’t have a “small dick complex” the problem I have is with the 21 year old kid almost killing me because he was on his phone. Or when I’m at the movie’s and peoples cell phones ring which happens at least 3 times a show. Or when my plane lands and you hear 100 people rush to get to their phone just so they can inform the people waiting for them at the gate that the plane landed. Duh. Or when I’m at a bar or restaurant and someone is using their Nextel so everyone in the place can hear their conversation. Or….I can keep going

Cellphones have evolved to be at best a basic necessity, however they are way overused. Explain to me why a 13 year old kid needs a phone? I had to beg to get a phone in my bedroom when I was 14 and that was a distraction enough, forget it if I had a cellphone.


End rant

And that's the way it was and we liked it!

[Ksyrup]

Errr - hands free kit anyone? ... (I'm presuming that America is the same as the UK as in talking on a mobile/cell phone is illegal while driving but using a hands-free kit is fine (as its basically the same as talking to someone in the car).
Not so. AFAIK, the vast majority of states do not outlaw driving while talking on a cell phone, regardless of whether it is hands-free or not. When NY passed that law a couple of years ago, it made big news. I'm not sure if any other states have gone along with that, but it's not a law in Florida and I don't hear any noise about it becoming an issue.

[Castlerock]

You know, it *is* possible to talk on a cell phone and pay attention while driving...Just like it *IS* possible to be drunk and pay attention while driving.

A Comparison of the Cell Phone Driver and the Drunk Driver (http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=570222) Abstract:
We used a high-fidelity driving simulator to compare the performance of cell-phone drivers with drivers who were legally intoxicated from ethanol. When drivers were conversing on either a hand-held or hands-free cell-phone, their braking reactions were delayed and they were involved in more traffic accidents than when they were not conversing on the cell phone. By contrast, when drivers were legally intoxicated they exhibited a more aggressive driving style, following closer to the vehicle immediately in front of them and applying more force while braking. When controlling for driving conditions and time on task, cell-phone drivers exhibited greater impairment than intoxicated drivers. The results have implications for legislation addressing driver distraction caused by cell phone conversations

[Lathum]

And that's the way it was and we liked it!
Damn Straight!

[RendeR]

You know, it *is* possible to talk on a cell phone and pay attention while driving...


utterly and completely wrong.

[Subby]

utterly and completely wrong.
Utterly and completely right.

I do it all the time.

If one person can do it, then it *is* possible.

[Buccaneer]

I hope we can all agree that the only things more annoying than cellphone users are the crotchety old bastards that complain about them...
Hey. :mad:

Lol. While I personally detest (and do not have) cell phones, I understand the need for them...
Just not when you are fucking driving

[Subby]

Hey. :mad:

Lol. While I personally detest (and do not have) cell phones, I understand the need for them...
Just not when you are fucking driving
You know I was thinking of you and you alone when I posted that ;)

[RendeR]

99% of Americans have no talent for driving a motor vehicle, let alone driving it SAFELY.

Add in the inherint IDIOCY of doing ANYTHING beyond driving the vehicle and you have simply made life for everyone that much more dangerous.

Motor vehicles are lethal weapons when no operated in a safe and secure manner, and some are even then.

Do everyone a favor, stop talking shit with your buddy, stop putting on makeup, stop talking on your phones, stop playing with the fucking radio, and stop making excuses for why you all want to feel special and not have to be responsible while driving a 2 ton killing machine.

fucking cell phones....

[andy m]

mobile phone twats.

[MrBug708]

I agree that most people are bad when driving and on the cell phone, but then again, in LA, there is so much traffic during rush hour that you aren't going fast enough to really worry about much.

However, I think it would be dumb to allow cell phones, because I'm sure more then one person has killed someone while adjusting the radio or just not looking.

[ISiddiqui]

Or when my plane lands and you hear 100 people rush to get to their phone just so they can inform the people waiting for them at the gate that the plane landed.
That's actually extremely convenient. One of the best uses of a cell phone, especially when you live in a city where delayed flights are the norm. That way the person waiting for you can go to the newsstand or coffee shop and not get bored out of their mind just waiting at the gate. When you call them, then they can go to the gate.

[daedalus]

As for the phone company racket, I'm looking into what to do about our landline right now. Once I can figure out what to do about DirecTV and the DirecTIVO (yeah, I know I can hack them, but I'm not quite willing to do that yet) I may well have Vonage. $25/month (plus whatever for 911 service) vs. $70/month is a no-brainer. The phone companies are going to be in serious trouble...We're looking at doing something similar as well. At the moment, our current plan is to drop the landline and get a third line on our (shared) cellphone plan since we want to keep our number. That should cut our monthly phone bill down a large chunk - I'm looking at just under $50 per month from Verizon JUST for the priviledge of having a phone at the house since the only thing I use it for is for dialing into my ISP. Some of the money saved will go toward us getting broadband - which will have to be cable modem since DSL, other than Speakeasy, apparently needs active phonelines. At least that's the way I've heard it. But that still leaves us a big chunk of change that we're saving. Can't stand Verizon.

[daedalus]

I don’t have a “small dick complex” the problem I have is with the 21 year old kid almost killing me because he was on his phone. Or when I’m at the movie’s and peoples cell phones ring which happens at least 3 times a show. Or when my plane lands and you hear 100 people rush to get to their phone just so they can inform the people waiting for them at the gate that the plane landed. Duh. Or when I’m at a bar or restaurant and someone is using their Nextel so everyone in the place can hear their conversation. Or….I can keep goingBut then is that an argument of "cell phone are stupid" (which seemed to have been the tone of some at the start of this thread which, in my opinion, led to panerd calling out some people) or "some people are assholes"?

[jetpunk2000]

You know, it *is* possible to talk on a cell phone and pay attention while driving...
Not for most people. I think this is almost like the I'm OK to drive even though I've had 10 beers in an hour sydrome. People in that situation THINK they can do it, when meanwhile they're in 3 lanes, causing accidents all around them, oblivious to everything.

[Kevin]

Bah! I don't want a cellphone. Someone might try to call me if I did. Bring back the Pony express!

[Ksyrup]

That's actually extremely convenient. One of the best uses of a cell phone, especially when you live in a city where delayed flights are the norm. That way the person waiting for you can go to the newsstand or coffee shop and not get bored out of their mind just waiting at the gate. When you call them, then they can go to the gate.Yep, one of the many useful ways cell phones make our lives more efficient.

The bottom line is, at least in this country, work days seem to be getting longer, vacations - if they occur at all - are getting shorter, and people need all of the extra "down" time they can to rest, do things they enjoy, and be with their families (2 and 3 shouldn't be mutually exclusive :) ). If I can cut 20 minutes out of my work day by being attached to my cell phone, that's 20 minutes earlier I can get home to see my kids. As it is, during a regular work week, I see them for about 30 minutes in the morning and MAYBE an hour at night before they go to sleep. I need that efficiency.

[cuervo72]

If one person can do it, then it *is* possible.

Possible, but in many cases...I mean the idiot quotient is so high out their already...

I have no problem doing this riding home for work (usually anyway), but that's on a US highway with not a lot of traffic - a straight shot. I think when you're in an environment with more cars, more intersections, starting and stopping...well, you're just adding more variables to the equation, making things harder.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'm on pretty much the same page that Ksyrup just posted -- minus the ability to be reachable by cell pretty much anywhere, I could forget about trips like the one coming up next week. Instead, because our primary client can reach me if he needs me, I get to take my son to WDW for his spring break (again). No cell, no near-instant access, no way I can leave for 6 days in the middle of their most important ad campaign of the year.

And without those kind of pleasures, those benefits of "being the boss", my desire to do what I do for a living drops noticeably.

Because she has her cell, instead of worrying about my wife as she travels back and forth 4-5 hours several times a week for the past two months to visit her father in the hospital, I've got a certain degree of comfort with it. Not complete comfort, but better than without it. Less worry = better focus on other responsibilities = keeping our business running a lot more effectively and efficiently in spite of being shorthand for the better part of 60 days during our most critical season.

And that doesn't even start to cover the reality that I see a lot more stupid things done on the road that don't appear to involve cell phones than those that do (reference my soccer-moms-in-SUV's rant from at least one other thread).

Sorry folks, but I think whoever it was pointed out the "little dick syndrome" earlier in the thread is a lot closer to the truth than some whinyassmotherfuckers here are comfortable admitting.

[ice4277]

And that doesn't even start to cover the reality that I see a lot more stupid things done on the road that don't appear to involve cell phones than those that do (reference my soccer-moms-in-SUV's rant from at least one other thread).

Sorry folks, but I think whoever it was pointed out the "little dick syndrome" earlier in the thread is a lot closer to the truth than some whinyassmotherfuckers here are comfortable admitting.
Agreed. Bad drivers are bad drivers, and therefore more likely to find something, ANYTHING to distract them.

[Ksyrup]

The local paper has a "traffic doctor" who answers questions about bad roads, bad drivers, bad signage at certain intersections, etc. His latest crusade is against elbow drivers. Here's what was in one of his most recent columns:

"I encountered a new low in driver attention in traffic this morning," John Ter Louw wrote Thursday. "The lady in the white Camry was flossing her teeth while driving!"

She was southbound on Thomasville Road, between Bannerman and Kerry Forest. Going about 50, he said. Appeared to be using her forearm or (no, not again) her elbow on the wheel.

This elbow driving has to stop.


<!-- end body-content --><!-- begin body-end -->

[rkmsuf]

It's sick. I watched this morning sitting at a light and at least a third of the cars going by contained people talking on the phone at 9:00 am.

[JonInMiddleGA]

It's sick. I watched this morning sitting at a light and at least a third of the cars going by contained people talking on the phone at 9:00 am.

And it seems a fair bet that at least a third of them were working, possibly more.
I got zero problem with that, better than driving like a bat out of hell to get somewhere.

[WSUCougar]

And it seems a fair bet that at least a third of them were working, possibly more.
I got zero problem with that, better than driving like a bat out of hell to get somewhere.
So as a driver, you are saying that you're perfectly willing to significantly reduce the concentration of a large percentage of fellow drivers? Interesting.

[Ksyrup]

If this chick had a cell phone, none of this would have happened...



KETTERING, Ohio (AP) -- A woman rushing to a hospital to give birth hit a few stops along the way -- first at a gas station where she delivered the baby herself, then when confused police ordered her out of the car at gunpoint.

Debbie Coleman, whose 3- and 4-year-old daughters were asleep in the back seat, pulled over at a gas station just after midnight Tuesday.

"I asked if she needed help, and she just leaned back in the seat, hollered a little, and I looked down and there was the baby's head," said station co-owner Lloyd Goff, who was alerted to the emergency at pump No. 7 by a customer.

Goff said Coleman "threw her leg over the steering wheel, groaned once, and the rest of the baby came out.

"She caught that baby, put it to her chest, gave me a look, like, 'I gotta go,' closed the door, put the van in gear and away she went."

A customer at the gas station in suburban Dayton tried to give police a heads-up about Coleman's situation, but a mix-up involving the license plate number had them thinking the van was stolen.

As officers went looking for her, Coleman headed for the hospital, naked below the waist and with the baby boy in her arm. His umbilical cord was still attached.

"I kept pulling over, making sure (the baby) was all right, breathing," she said.

Meanwhile, police had straightened out the license plate issue. But another caller mistakenly reported someone trying to throw a baby from a van.

Coleman said she noticed several cruisers following her before one cut her off. With guns drawn, officers ordered her out of the van with her hands up.

"I opened the door and said, 'I just had a baby' and just let them see everything," she said.

Officers sent Coleman on and let the hospital know she was coming.

Coleman was discharged Wednesday. Her 6-pound, 8-ounce son, Richard Lee Coleman Jr., remained in intensive care.

[JonInMiddleGA]

So as a driver, you are saying that you're perfectly willing to significantly reduce the concentration of a large percentage of fellow drivers? Interesting.

I've seen enough incidents caused by being in too big a hurry to feel like this is any more dangerous. I've got next to no confidence in the other drivers on the road anyway, so it's not like this gives me any additional concern.

I drove in Atlanta traffic before the widespread use of cell phones, I've driven in it since they became prevalent. I see no real difference in the overall number of incidents nor the severity of incidents. Apparently, if people are going to be distracted (or whatever) enough to be hazardous on the road, they're going to do that whether they're on the phone or not.

[gstelmack]

Officers sent Coleman on and let the hospital know she was coming.
They sent her on? Not one of the officers could get in the van and drive her to the hospital? Call an ambulance out? They had her continue driving with a baby in her arms?

If that's true, I've got to wonder if Ohio is importing Sherriff's Deputies from Atlanta...

[Castlerock]

You know, it *is* possible to talk on a cell phone and pay attention while driving...

utterly and completely wrong.

Utterly and completely right.

I do it all the time.

If one person can do it, then it *is* possible.

It's possible to drive drunk and drive well, too.
I do it all the time. :rolleyes:

[rkmsuf]

And it seems a fair bet that at least a third of them were working, possibly more.
I got zero problem with that, better than driving like a bat out of hell to get somewhere.


Working? On their way to work? You can't wait 5 minutes to check your messages?

I'm willing to bet the majority of them may have been "working" but there was zero reason for it. It's like why does a dog lick his ass...cuz he can.

Why do you check your messages on your way to work...cuz you can.

Or maybe I'm just bitter because they are important people and I am not.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Working? On their way to work? You can't wait 5 minutes to check your messages?

Or running late for some reason. Or redirecting something in the office so things are on track when you get there. Or checking msgs to see if there's something that should re-route you. Or rcvg a call from work rerouting you for some purpose. Or any of dozen other things. [/quote]

Or maybe I'm just bitter because they are important people and I am not.

Nothing personal, but I think you may have hit on something here.

[WSUCougar]

A bit of a side note, but this is what strikes and disturbs me perhaps the most about the cell phone plague. Many cell phone users have rapidly pushed such usage to their top priority in terms of activities, such that almost everything else is secondary. Driving, common courtesy, interaction with others, etc. They talk loudly in places they shouldn't (restaurants, stores, etc.), they ignore or barely acknowledge people who are trying to serve them (clerks, waiters, etc.), they lack awareness of personal space (obliviously standing in the middle of store aisles, bumping into people, etc.). All because they can. Why is this acceptable?

[Mustang]

I don't agree with the idea of making talking on a cell phone while driving illegal. What about talking to another passenger in the car? Eating? Changing radio stations? Picking up something off the floor? Handing something to a child in the back seat? Daydreaming? All of these things are potentially dangerous and can cause accidents. Do we make them all illegal?

They are illegal. I believe they would all fall under inattentive driving . . .

If something impairs your ability to drive then yes, it should be illegal. That is the whole thing on Drunk driving.. is that it impairs your ability to drive a vehicle safely.

[sterlingice]

A bit of a side note, but this is what strikes and disturbs me perhaps the most about the cell phone plague. Many cell phone users have rapidly pushed such usage to their top priority in terms of activities, such that almost everything else is secondary. Driving, common courtesy, interaction with others, etc. They talk loudly in places they shouldn't (restaurants, stores, etc.), they ignore or barely acknowledge people who are trying to serve them (clerks, waiters, etc.), they lack awareness of personal space (obliviously standing in the middle of store aisles, bumping into people, etc.). All because they can. Why is this acceptable?
So a friend and I are at a ballgame a couple of years ago. A guy down the row is talking loudly on his cell. Now being drunk and heckling at the game is rude, being drunk and talking loudly on a cell about nothing at all related to a ballgame is heresy. So this friend gets out his bifold wallet, flips it down and starts yelling "BUY, BUY, BUY! SELL, SELL, SELL!" into his wallet until the guy hangs up. Good stuff.

{rant} I mean, geez. This is like the group of a couple of guys who drags their girlfriends along to the game who sit there and gossip the entire fucking ballgame. It's baseball. If you're going to pay for a ticket, sit there and watch the game, cheer for the game, talk about the game, talk about baseball, whatever. I don't go into that movie you're watching and talk through it. If you're dragging guys to the game who don't like baseball just because they want to get drunk at the game, seame thing. If you have a girlfriend who loves baseball, bless you, sir, you have something good going on. {end rant}

SI

[rkmsuf]

So a friend and I are at a ballgame a couple of years ago. A guy down the row is talking loudly on his cell. Now being drunk and heckling at the game is rude, being drunk and talking loudly on a cell about nothing at all related to a ballgame is heresy. So this friend gets out his bifold wallet, flips it down and starts yelling "BUY, BUY, BUY! SELL, SELL, SELL!" into his wallet until the guy hangs up. Good stuff.

{rant} I mean, geez. This is like the group of a couple of guys who drags their girlfriends along to the game who sit there and gossip the entire fucking ballgame. It's baseball. If you're going to pay for a ticket, sit there and watch the game, cheer for the game, talk about the game, talk about baseball, whatever. I don't go into that movie you're watching and talk through it. If you're dragging guys to the game who don't like baseball just because they want to get drunk at the game, seame thing. If you have a girlfriend who loves baseball, bless you, sir, you have something good going on. {end rant}

SI

Or the f*ckwads who sit behind home plate, whip out the cell phone and wave into the camera to their buddies on the other end.

[WSUCougar]

When Joe Buck's broadcasting Cards games for the local STL station he likes to make fun of the idiots in the FIRST ROW BEHIND HOME PLATE who spend literally almost the entire game on their cell phone and waving to either the camera or to people in the !@#$% stadium.

Edit: ACK! You beat me to it, rkmsuf

[rkmsuf]

When Joe Buck's broadcasting Cards games for the local STL station he likes to make fun of the idiots in the FIRST ROW BEHIND HOME PLATE who spend literally almost the entire game on their cell phone and waving to either the camera or to people in the !@#$% stadium.

Edit: ACK! You beat me to it, rkmsuf

They make fun of them up in Boston too.

Speaking of behind home plate, to this day I still see morons rolling their arms like the lady at the 1986 World Series.

[Tekneek]

This point of view may have already been represented, so please accept my apologies if I skimmed over it...

I don't believe the problem is cellphones. I think the problem is irresponsible people behaving recklessly. Each individual should have enough respect for everyone else to not talk on the cellphone if it impairs their ability to drive properly. If I can drive properly AND talk on a cellphone, I should not be punished because some other fools can't handle it.

I don't know if it is a parenting issue, but somewhere along the way they were not taught how to properly respect the vehicle they are driving and its ability to take away the life of others on or near the road. That's not my problem. It's their problem.

[Castlerock]

This point of view may have already been represented, so please accept my apologies if I skimmed over it...

I don't believe the problem is cellphones. I think the problem is irresponsible people behaving recklessly. Each individual should have enough respect for everyone else to not talk on the cellphone if it impairs their ability to drive properly. If I can drive properly AND talk on a cellphone, I should not be punished because some other fools can't handle it.

I don't know if it is a parenting issue, but somewhere along the way they were not taught how to properly respect the vehicle they are driving and its ability to take away the life of others on or near the road. That's not my problem. It's their problem.

Amen! I feel the exact same way about drinking and driving. Each individual should have enough respect for everyone else to not drive drunk if it impairs their ability to drive properly. If I can drive properly AND be drunk, I should not be punished because some other fools can't handle it.

[Desnudo]

And how do you guys propose to judge who can and who can't? Standardized testing of reactions after putting away a 12-pack?

Personally, I feel like I'm able to decide who needs killin' and who doesn't. It pisses me off when people who obviously can't make that decision, go out and kill some one.

[Tekneek]

And how do you guys propose to judge who can and who can't? Standardized testing of reactions after putting away a 12-pack?

You observe them. If they are weaving into other lanes, not signalling when they turn or change lanes, following too closely, etc, then you have a problem that should require that they be stopped. I don't have a problem with a legal BAC limit being set, as long as it is scientifically based on a level that would indicate intoxication of an average person. If they consent to a field sobriety test and fail, that would be evidence against them as well. I don't necessarily believe that BAC by itself should be cause for arrest, if you are otherwise operating the vehicle properly and safely. In other words, there should not be roadblocks just to smell for alcohol. You should have some other cause to stop a vehicle.

The same goes for cellphones. Merely talking on a cellphone should not be cause for presumption that you are about to have an accident or hit a pedestrian. You should have to demonstrate an inability to properly drive the vehicle before a crime has been committed. It's not really that hard to figure out, is it?

[Masked]

Amen! I feel the exact same way about drinking and driving. Each individual should have enough respect for everyone else to not drive drunk if it impairs their ability to drive properly. If I can drive properly AND be drunk, I should not be punished because some other fools can't handle it.
No one can drive properly and be drunk.

[Castlerock]

No one can drive properly and be drunk.
That was my point (and why I labeled the post as sarcasm).
Everyone is convinced that they are not the problem because they can operate a car safely while drunk, on a cell, etc.

[Desnudo]

You observe them. If they are weaving into other lanes, not signalling when they turn or change lanes, following too closely, etc, then you have a problem that should require that they be stopped. I don't have a problem with a legal BAC limit being set, as long as it is scientifically based on a level that would indicate intoxication of an average person. If they consent to a field sobriety test and fail, that would be evidence against them as well. I don't necessarily believe that BAC by itself should be cause for arrest, if you are otherwise operating the vehicle properly and safely. In other words, there should not be roadblocks just to smell for alcohol. You should have some other cause to stop a vehicle.

The same goes for cellphones. Merely talking on a cellphone should not be cause for presumption that you are about to have an accident or hit a pedestrian. You should have to demonstrate an inability to properly drive the vehicle before a crime has been committed. It's not really that hard to figure out, is it?

Alcohol reduces reaction times and leads to more aggressive driving. It's proven time and again. The laws are meant to be preventative as well as punitive. Meaning that they want you off the road before you do something stupid, not afterwards.

[RendeR]

You observe them. If they are weaving into other lanes, not signalling when they turn or change lanes, following too closely, etc, then you have a problem that should require that they be stopped.



you just described every driver in eastern massachusettes, please contact dipshit romney and have him enforce this...PLEASE!

[RendeR]

Utterly and completely right.

I do it all the time.

If one person can do it, then it *is* possible.

See this is the real problem. Ignorant gits like this who THINK they can do something that cannot be done.

If your attention is anywhere but the road, you're not driving properly OR safely.

please figure this fact out.

[Tekneek]

you just described every driver in eastern massachusettes, please contact dipshit romney and have him enforce this...PLEASE!

I do happen to think that a big problem with drivers is the fact that simple traffic violations are ignored. Drivers get accustomed to inching into intersections, making improper lane changes, improper turns, pulling into crosswalks, and so on, to the point that they actually believe those demonstrate proper driving techniques. Then, you add in a cellphone to a driver who is already pushing the envelope and neglecting all the details and you have a recipe for disaster. If they were already conscientious drivers, they would not suddenly kill someone by simply introducing a cellphone. As drivers who paid attention to the details, they wouldn't use the phone if they felt it impaired their ability to maintain that standard.

It doesn't help that I see police officers committing traffic violations everyday that I am out on the roads, either. Nobody is setting a good example for these drivers who probably learned from parents who were constantly breaking rules as well.

[Tekneek]

Alcohol reduces reaction times and leads to more aggressive driving. It's proven time and again. The laws are meant to be preventative as well as punitive. Meaning that they want you off the road before you do something stupid, not afterwards.

Why do you think parents did not bring up their kids with a sense of respect and responsibility that would prevent them from ever considering such activity? I would never drive drunk. I'm wondering where my parents succeeded and so many have failed.

[Loren]

(damn i forgot to quote, soo in regards to directv>>>)we never have ours hooked up with the phone either, we got an upgraded system recently and the installer guy didnt even connect it..id love to get rid of our phone line at home since we use the cell phone for every call we make, but we'd loose dsl if we did that and no one here lets you have dsl without charging for the phone line..wed have to get cable and thats just as expensive as what we pay for both house phone and dsl through sbc :rolleyes: sucks...
we got cell phones when we had the kid, i dont relish the thought of something happening to one of us on the road with a kid in the car, plus the man's out on the road all week, gotta love the cell phone.. as usual it isnt the actual item, it's the morons who use them at the wrong times in the wrong stupid ways...

[rkmsuf]

I'm telling you, these things are a problem.

---------------------------------------------------

Cell Phone Users Interrupt Sex for Phone Calls


hxxp://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/cell_sex.html


April 11, 2005
Fourteen percent of the world's cell phone users report that they have stopped in the middle of a sex act to answer a ringing wireless device, Ad Age reported.


The highest incidence of cellular interruptus was found in Germany and Spain, where 22 percent of users interrupted sex to answer their cell phones; the lowest was in Italy, where only 7 percent reported doing so. In the U.S., the figure was 15 percent, the magazine said, citing a study conducted by BBDO Worldwide and Proximity Worldwide.

"People can't bear to miss a call," said Christine Hannis, head of communications for BBDO Europe. "Everybody thinks the next call can be something really exciting. And getting so many calls proves social success," she said. "It fulfills a fundamental insecurity."

More than half of the respondents, 52 percent, said they used a mobile phone to flirt.

[Ksyrup]

"And getting so many calls proves social success"


I thought having sex proved social success?

[st.cronin]

I'm telling you, these things are a problem.

---------------------------------------------------

Cell Phone Users Interrupt Sex for Phone Calls


hxxp://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/cell_sex.html


April 11, 2005
Fourteen percent of the world's cell phone users report that they have stopped in the middle of a sex act to answer a ringing wireless device, Ad Age reported.


The highest incidence of cellular interruptus was found in Germany and Spain, where 22 percent of users interrupted sex to answer their cell phones; the lowest was in Italy, where only 7 percent reported doing so. In the U.S., the figure was 15 percent, the magazine said, citing a study conducted by BBDO Worldwide and Proximity Worldwide.

"People can't bear to miss a call," said Christine Hannis, head of communications for BBDO Europe. "Everybody thinks the next call can be something really exciting. And getting so many calls proves social success," she said. "It fulfills a fundamental insecurity."

More than half of the respondents, 52 percent, said they used a mobile phone to flirt.

If a girl ever did this to me I would get dressed and leave. Or, if it were my house, I'd turn on the tv and wait for her to leave.

[Cringer]

If a girl ever did this to me I would get dressed and leave. Or, if it were my house, I'd turn on the tv and wait for her to leave.

I just wouldn't stop. Make her scream....

[Subby]

blah blah blah cell phones are evil blah blah blah

[Subby]

99% of Americans have no talent for driving a motor vehicle, let alone driving it SAFELY.

Add in the inherint IDIOCY of doing ANYTHING beyond driving the vehicle and you have simply made life for everyone that much more dangerous.

Motor vehicles are lethal weapons when no operated in a safe and secure manner, and some are even then.

Do everyone a favor, stop talking shit with your buddy, stop putting on makeup, stop talking on your phones, stop playing with the fucking radio, and stop making excuses for why you all want to feel special and not have to be responsible while driving a 2 ton killing machine.

fucking cell phones....
You used to be such a tender young pea. Now you are an angry old dried up rutabaga. Wha happa!!!???

[Ben E Lou]

99% of Americans have no talent for driving a motor vehicle, let alone driving it SAFELY.

Add in the inherint IDIOCY of doing ANYTHING beyond driving the vehicle and you have simply made life for everyone that much more dangerous.

Motor vehicles are lethal weapons when no operated in a safe and secure manner, and some are even then.

Do everyone a favor, stop talking shit with your buddy, stop putting on makeup, stop talking on your phones, stop playing with the fucking radio, and stop making excuses for why you all want to feel special and not have to be responsible while driving a 2 ton killing machine.

fucking cell phones....I have a feeling that this guy wouldn't approve of me driving while playing my guitar, either.

[Cringer]

RendeR, you left off "Stop masterbating in rush hour traffic."

Unless it's a woman, I usually enjoy that a bunch. :D

[dawgfan]

See this is the real problem. Ignorant gits like this who THINK they can do something that cannot be done.

If your attention is anywhere but the road, you're not driving properly OR safely.

please figure this fact out.

Thanks for the lecture Mr. Perfect. I'm sure you've never done anything while driving that distracts you from the road - fiddling with the radio, inserting/removing CD's from the CD player, talking with your friends in the passenger seats, reaching over to the passenger seat to grab something, etc. We should probably write specific laws forbidding all of these activities as well, right?

I have no doubts that talking on a phone while driving limits your reaction time - that's not in question. I do question the contention that talking on a phone is worse than talking with a passenger - neither of the linked studies explained the research that purportedly comes to this conclusion. I also question the methodology of many of the studies, as I think the way they conducted their experiments are poor cyphers for the real thing and as such are severely flawed in the relevancy of their conclusions.

Here's the thing though - while we are all impaired a certain amount by any task that distracts us while driving, we are not all starting from the same level of driving skill. A good driver who's driving and talking on a cell phone may still be better than a horrible driving paying full attention to the road.

Don't mistake this defense of driving while talking on cell phones to mean I think it should be done willy-nilly - there are times where it's much more dangerous than others.

I would also concur with others that as a society, we haven't yet developed good manners with how to integrate cell-phone usage into the public arena. I get just as pissed as anyone when I see obnoxious cell-phone behavior. In time though, I think we as a society will adjust and adapt such that typically rude behavior with cell-phones becomes less common.

[Kodos]

This point of view may have already been represented, so please accept my apologies if I skimmed over it...

I don't believe the problem is cellphones. I think the problem is irresponsible people behaving recklessly. Each individual should have enough respect for everyone else to not talk on the cellphone if it impairs their ability to drive properly. If I can drive properly AND talk on a cellphone, I should not be punished because some other fools can't handle it.

I don't know if it is a parenting issue, but somewhere along the way they were not taught how to properly respect the vehicle they are driving and its ability to take away the life of others on or near the road. That's not my problem. It's their problem.


You realize that EVERYONE thinks they can drive and talk on the cell phone at the same time, yes?

[Desnudo]

See this is the real problem. Ignorant gits like this who THINK they can do something that cannot be done.

If your attention is anywhere but the road, you're not driving properly OR safely.

please figure this fact out.

I think the real problem is people who use British English slang in American style writing. :p

[RendeR]

Thanks for the lecture Mr. Perfect. I'm sure you've never done anything while driving that distracts you from the road - fiddling with the radio, inserting/removing CD's from the CD player, talking with your friends in the passenger seats, reaching over to the passenger seat to grab something, etc. We should probably write specific laws forbidding all of these activities as well, right?

I have no doubts that talking on a phone while driving limits your reaction time - that's not in question. I do question the contention that talking on a phone is worse than talking with a passenger - neither of the linked studies explained the research that purportedly comes to this conclusion. I also question the methodology of many of the studies, as I think the way they conducted their experiments are poor cyphers for the real thing and as such are severely flawed in the relevancy of their conclusions.

Here's the thing though - while we are all impaired a certain amount by any task that distracts us while driving, we are not all starting from the same level of driving skill. A good driver who's driving and talking on a cell phone may still be better than a horrible driving paying full attention to the road.

Don't mistake this defense of driving while talking on cell phones to mean I think it should be done willy-nilly - there are times where it's much more dangerous than others.

I would also concur with others that as a society, we haven't yet developed good manners with how to integrate cell-phone usage into the public arena. I get just as pissed as anyone when I see obnoxious cell-phone behavior. In time though, I think we as a society will adjust and adapt such that typically rude behavior with cell-phones becomes less common.


I won't insult anyone's intelligence by trying to say so. I've done stupid things just like anyone else. I will not however defend bringing another distraction, especially one that is TOTALLY UNNECESSARY IN A CAR.

People say they have to deal with work, bullshit, deal with it from the side of the road. if you think YOUR job is more important that someone else's LIFE then you're a bigger fucking loser than I would have assumed from seeing you use your self indulgent toy while trying to drive your car along the freeway.

Get a god damned clue people, You do NOT have to be in contact with anyone ALL the time. Grow the fuck up and show some fucking responsibility.

Subby: Eat shit, I've always been an angry old fart. I'm sick to death of people trying to defend human stupidity. You more than most it would seem.

Skydog, Don't be an Ass, its really not your forte

Desnudo: I picked up the slang IN the UK, so I figure I qualify. Don't like it, fucking ignore me then and my language won't bother you any longer.


Somtimes you people seriously piss me the fuck off.

God DAMNIT...stop making me sound like a parent.

[Subby]

You should turn that rage into something productive.

Like Ice Dancing!

[Desnudo]

You don't sound like a parent. Maybe someone with anger management problems. And great, I've been to the UK too, but I don't walk around calling everything bloody. And I could never ignore you, baby.

[dawgfan]

I will reiterate - just because some people are awful drivers to begin with and can't afford any distractions while driving shouldn't force others that have a clue while driving from being able to use their cell-phones when it's not a bad time to do so.

If you're going to create specific legislation outlawing talking on a cell-phone while driving then I want to see specific legislation outlawing reading the newspaper while driving, shaving while driving, applying makeup while driving, eating while driving, having an animated conversation with passengers while driving, etc.

Or, we could simply use the existing laws that allow police to ticket drivers for reckless or inattentive driving and go after the people that are hazards without forcing those of us that can manage both tasks competently from being able to do so.

[ISiddiqui]

I will not however defend bringing another distraction, especially one that is TOTALLY UNNECESSARY IN A CAR.
Music isn't necessary in a car. So stop fiddling with your radio or CDs while driving, you unsafe driver :p.

[daedalus]

id love to get rid of our phone line at home since we use the cell phone for every call we make, but we'd loose dsl if we did that and no one here lets you have dsl without charging for the phone line..wed have to get cable and thats just as expensive as what we pay for both house phone and dsl through sbc :rolleyes: sucks...Don't know if they're in your area but Speakeasy is one DSL that will let you do DSL without phone line. Of course, their price is fairly expensive (at least in my opinion).

[Kodos]

I have a feeling that this guy wouldn't approve of me driving while playing my guitar, either.


First, I can't believe that nobody else has praised this joke! :D


I think that behind the excess anger, RendeR makes some good points. Very few cell phone calls that are made while driving can be considered even remotely "necessary". In isolated circumstances, such as if you are reporting an accident or a drunk driver or some other emergency, using the cell phone while driving can be considered a reasonable thing to do (although pulling over before using the phone would be preferable).

As a rule, I think that talking on the phone is more distracting than talking to someone else who is in the car with you. Fiddling with buttons, trying to hear and be heard, yada yada yada - it can't help your driving. I also think that people enter a semi-hypnotic state when talking on the phone that they don't get into in a conversation with a person sitting next to them. They're trying to picture the person they're talking to, picture what the person is talking about, etc. At the very least, a passenger provides another set of eyes to watch the road, while the person you are talking to on a cell phone doesn't -- unless they happen to be in the car with you, in which case you are probably a simpering moron who should never drive a car anyway...

In the end, I see cell phone use while driving as just another example of people simply choosing to follow their own selfish motives and do whatever they feel like, regardless of any compelling evidence that might be presented that their course of action is not the wisest choice for them personally nor the safest option for everyone that they encounter on the road. I personally never talk on the phone while driving, and would favor any law that restricted other drivers from doing so. Drunk driving was once acceptable, but is now viewed as unlawful. I'm hoping that society will soon begin to realize that talking on the cell phone is just as bad and create laws to deal with the problem.

In the meantime, while I wait for the cell phone laws to materialize, I will just have content myself by listening to my beloved SUV drivers bitching about the skyrocketing costs of gasoline. :)

[Ben E Lou]

Skydog, Don't be an Ass, its really not your forteHmmmmm....you and Kodos seem to think that I was kidding. Interesting.

[dawgfan]

As a rule, I think that talking on the phone is more distracting than talking to someone else who is in the car with you. Fiddling with buttons, trying to hear and be heard, yada yada yada - it can't help your driving. I also think that people enter a semi-hypnotic state when talking on the phone that they don't get into in a conversation with a person sitting next to them. They're trying to picture the person they're talking to, picture what the person is talking about, etc. At the very least, a passenger provides another set of eyes to watch the road, while the person you are talking to on a cell phone doesn't -- unless they happen to be in the car with you, in which case you are probably a simpering moron who should never drive a car anyway...

The point about a passenger being an extra set of eyes is a good one, but otherwise I'm yet to be convinced that a conversation on a cell-phone is any more distracting than one in a car. With a hands-free device for your phone, a person talking on the phone while driving can keep his eyes on the road (and checking the speedometer and rear-view mirror). There's a tendency when talking to passengers to occasionally make eye contact. And unlike a phone conversation, where if things get heated and emotional you can hang up, you're stuck with your passenger.

Drunk driving was once acceptable, but is now viewed as unlawful. I'm hoping that society will soon begin to realize that talking on the cell phone is just as bad and create laws to deal with the problem.

Let's be clear here - we haven't outlawed driving by people that have been drinking - we've set a certain level of sobriety as the benchmark. Depending on your body chemistry, you can have a drink or two or three depending on the situation (and the length of time over which you consume) and still drive legally.

My point remains that not all drivers start off on equal footing. Some can better afford to handle distractions while driving or to have had a drink or two and still drive - others can't. A former girlfriend of mine fully admitted her poor driving skills and because of that wouldn't ever drive after having a drink, as she couldn't afford any loss of dexterity. Unfortunately, many bad drivers are oblivious to their poor driving.

For my part, if I'm driving after having had something to drink, or if I'm driving while talking on the phone, I'm conscious of the fact that I need to pay as much attention to the task of driving as I can as well as being cautious and safe - not speeding at all, keeping a very safe following distance, etc. I have no doubt that compared to being fully sober and not talking on the phone, my reaction time is diminished, but I also don't think I'm a major safety hazard either.

Let's face it - driving carries safety risks. There is no perfectly safe solution to several thousand pound objects travelling at high speeds with full freedom of movement. We allow for some compromises of safety in the interests of personal liberty.

[Marmel]

I don't particularly care whether this is made illegal or not, since I lay on my horn and flick off these jerkweeds who cant drive and talk at the same time.

Now there are plenty of bad drivers on the road but cell phone users are notorious for (a) being a bit out of their lanes on the highways and (b) not having any idea of how slow they are driving on the highway. Pretty dangerous stuff here, and I am sure they don't realize it and think they are capable of driving perfectly fine...I mean who continues to have their left wheels in my lane while going 48 mpg on the highway on purpose?

Either way, I let them know how they are driving with a polite beep of the horn, or polite middle finger. :)

[Ksyrup]

I just got a Blackberry. Pretty damn cool. Now, instead of just talking on the phone while I drive, I can read email and surf the internet.

[WSUCougar]

I'm yet to be convinced that a conversation on a cell-phone is any more distracting than one in a car
And there's the rub. While I respect your opinion, I totally disagree.

Personally, for whatever reason, talking on the phone requires a significantly different type of attention than conversing in the same room. Maybe that's not true for everyone, you in particular, but to say that they are identical in my case is stating something that is factually wrong. I think that phone attention is much more driven by the reception, perception, or whatever of a signal, whereas conversing is direct and more pervasive.

[Raiders Army]

This post intentially left blank.

[dawgfan]

Here's an idea - how about instead of outlawing talking on phones while driving, we require the cell-phone companies to subsidize ad campaigns emphasizing the safety risks of talking on the phone while driving, promoting safer behavior and suggesting people think twice before making or answering a call while driving. In addition, let's promote to traffic cops that they increase an emphasis on busting drivers for poor driving, especially targeting cell-phone users.

This would help in shaping public behavior while still allowing some freedom for those that have a need for doing both or are better able to handle this multi-tasking.

[sabotai]

Here's an idea - how about instead of outlawing talking on phones while driving, we require the cell-phone companies to subsidize ad campaigns emphasizing the safety risks of talking on the phone while driving, promoting safer behavior and suggesting people think twice before making or answering a call while driving.

Because, after all, it's all the evil corperation's fault.

[dawgfan]

Because, after all, it's all the evil corperation's fault.

That's not it at all. Cell phone service providers and phone manufacturers do have a vested interest though in whether cell-phone usage is kept legal while driving. Providing public service ads could be a way to fend off legislation that outlaws the practice altogether.

[rkmsuf]

That's not it at all. Cell phone service providers and phone manufacturers do have a vested interest though in whether cell-phone usage is kept legal while driving. Providing public service ads could be a way to fend off legislation that outlaws the practice altogether.

People are too busy talking on their cell phones to pay attention to the ads.

[sabotai]

That's not it at all.

Then why punish them by forcing them to fund an ad campaign?

[dawgfan]

I'm not saying the government should force them to do anything. I'm suggesting that it might be in their best interests though to be proactive on this issue.

[sabotai]

I'm not saying the government should force them to do anything. I'm suggesting that it might be in their best interests though to be proactive on this issue.

No, what you said was

how about instead of outlawing talking on phones while driving, we require the cell-phone companies to subsidize ad campaigns emphasizing the safety risks of talking on the phone while driving, promoting safer behavior and suggesting people think twice before making or answering a call while driving.

It's pretty cut and dry. "we require the cell-phone companies". Requiring the companies to do something would mean a law enforced by the government. You didn't say "they should do this for their own good", you basically said they should be made to it. That's two different things.

[sterlingice]

First, I can't believe that nobody else has praised this joke! :D

I think that behind the excess anger, RendeR makes some good points. Very few cell phone calls that are made while driving can be considered even remotely "necessary". In isolated circumstances, such as if you are reporting an accident or a drunk driver or some other emergency, using the cell phone while driving can be considered a reasonable thing to do (although pulling over before using the phone would be preferable).

As a rule, I think that talking on the phone is more distracting than talking to someone else who is in the car with you. Fiddling with buttons, trying to hear and be heard, yada yada yada - it can't help your driving. I also think that people enter a semi-hypnotic state when talking on the phone that they don't get into in a conversation with a person sitting next to them. They're trying to picture the person they're talking to, picture what the person is talking about, etc. At the very least, a passenger provides another set of eyes to watch the road, while the person you are talking to on a cell phone doesn't -- unless they happen to be in the car with you, in which case you are probably a simpering moron who should never drive a car anyway...

In the end, I see cell phone use while driving as just another example of people simply choosing to follow their own selfish motives and do whatever they feel like, regardless of any compelling evidence that might be presented that their course of action is not the wisest choice for them personally nor the safest option for everyone that they encounter on the road. I personally never talk on the phone while driving, and would favor any law that restricted other drivers from doing so. Drunk driving was once acceptable, but is now viewed as unlawful. I'm hoping that society will soon begin to realize that talking on the cell phone is just as bad and create laws to deal with the problem.

In the meantime, while I wait for the cell phone laws to materialize, I will just have content myself by listening to my beloved SUV drivers bitching about the skyrocketing costs of gasoline. :)
The alien is wise in many ways :)

SI

[Ben E Lou]

The alien is wise in many ways :)

SINo, he isn't. He thought I was joking about driving and playing guitar. He ain't THAT wise. :p

[sterlingice]

No, he isn't. He thought I was joking about driving and playing guitar. He ain't THAT wise. :p He's also unwise in many ways, but he's wise in some ways, too :p

SI

[sterlingice]

I'm not saying the government should force them to do anything. I'm suggesting that it might be in their best interests though to be proactive on this issue.
I love this solution: It makes absolutely no sense. Why is it in their interest to do something like this? People will cell phones won't care, people without won't buy. Why is it in their best interests? Sure, it's in the public's best interest but I'm pretty sure the number of times completely altruistic motives have come up in large corporate boardrooms in the last twenty years can be counted on one hand.

SI

[dawgfan]

t's pretty cut and dry. "we require the cell-phone companies". Requiring the companies to do something would mean a law enforced by the government. You didn't say "they should do this for their own good", you basically said they should be made to it. That's two different things.

You're correct - I said "require" when what I was more accurately thinking was "strongly suggest".

Do you object to beer companies making commercials discouraging teenage drinking and drunk driving, or tobacco companies making print ads describing the health effects of smoking? Are these unfair burdens on those industries?

It's not directly the fault of cell-phone manufacturers or service providers when idiot drivers cause accidents while talking on a cell-phone, but it's something that is affecting the public image of their industry. If they were to produce ads that promoted safer, more responsible use of their products (as well as more consideration when in public) they could improve their image an perhaps realize longer-term financial rewards if certain segments of the population reduced their annoyance with cell-phone behavior.

[dawgfan]

I love this solution: It makes absolutely no sense. Why is it in their interest to do something like this? People will cell phones won't care, people without won't buy. Why is it in their best interests? Sure, it's in the public's best interest but I'm pretty sure the number of times completely altruistic motives have come up in large corporate boardrooms in the last twenty years can be counted on one hand.

SI

It makes no sense for the cell-phone industry to promote more responsible use of their product? Have you read the vitriol in this thread towards cell-phones?

What we have is a technology that is still in its youth, and we as a culture have been slow to adapt and adjust to accommodate the changes that mobile telephones bring to public behavior. There are segments of the population that have developed a dislike of cell-phones beyond any practical reasoning but is based on a dislike of the behavior of those with the phones.

While there are any number of individuals bitching about the effect of cell-phone use on both driving and in terms of public courtesy, an ad campaign by the industry could provide a more structured and unifying message to the public. I don't expect such a campaign would have a huge immediate impact on behavior, but I think it would accomplish the following:

1. Show the public that the industry is aware of the problems that many have with their product and that they care about responsible usage;
2. Start a more public discourse on these issues, and provide the perception that the industry is willing to work with its critics;
3. Long-term, I think it could help speed up the way our culture adapts to cell-phones and what is considered appropriate usage
4. Also long-term, if the campaign was successful in helping shift our cell-phone habits and in conjuction with improving their public image, it would lead to penetration into a greater percentage of the public and thus more revenue

Do you think the beer company ads regarding teenage drinking and designated drivers has had no positive impact?

[sabotai]

You're correct - I said "require" when what I was more accurately thinking was "strongly suggest".

There you go. Much better.

Do you object to beer companies making commercials discouraging teenage drinking and drunk driving, or tobacco companies making print ads describing the health effects of smoking? Are these unfair burdens on those industries?

If they are forced to do it, then yes. If they do on their own, then no because they are doing it to themselves.

[dawgfan]

If they are forced to do it, then yes. If they do on their own, then no because they are doing it to themselves.

I don't believe the beer companies are being "forced" to produce those ads, but I think they were "strongly encouraged" in the wake of the Spuds McKenzie ad campaigns (in the case of teenage drinking). I'm not sure if groups like MADD and others brought about the decision to produce the designated driver ads, but I think it was a good, practical decision.

[sterlingice]

It makes no sense for the cell-phone industry to promote more responsible use of their product? Have you read the vitriol in this thread towards cell-phones?

What we have is a technology that is still in its youth, and we as a culture have been slow to adapt and adjust to accommodate the changes that mobile telephones bring to public behavior. There are segments of the population that have developed a dislike of cell-phones beyond any practical reasoning but is based on a dislike of the behavior of those with the phones.

While there are any number of individuals bitching about the effect of cell-phone use on both driving and in terms of public courtesy, an ad campaign by the industry could provide a more structured and unifying message to the public. I don't expect such a campaign would have a huge immediate impact on behavior, but I think it would accomplish the following:

1. Show the public that the industry is aware of the problems that many have with their product and that they care about responsible usage;
2. Start a more public discourse on these issues, and provide the perception that the industry is willing to work with its critics;
3. Long-term, I think it could help speed up the way our culture adapts to cell-phones and what is considered appropriate usage
4. Also long-term, if the campaign was successful in helping shift our cell-phone habits and in conjuction with improving their public image, it would lead to penetration into a greater percentage of the public and thus more revenue

Do you think the beer company ads regarding teenage drinking and designated drivers has had no positive impact?
And you missed my point entirely. Yes, it's good for society as a whole. But this has the problem of statements like "my baseball team should pay $12M for an ace starting pitcher" and then they get upset when you sign Pedro or someone because everyone has question marks and there's no such thing as a perfect ace. Or the "music companies just need to set up a new business model for mp3's"- I doubt the record companies are running out there to try and develop a new model when their current one still makes them money.

In the same vein, if you go and propose this to, say, Verizon, they're going to look at you and laugh. Sure it benefits society, but how does it benefit them? Why would they want to do it? It makes them marginal money at best. Whereas the downside is that those advertising spots could better be used to steal customers away from Nextel and Sprint. If you were running the company solely for your shareholders (and thus personal weath) as most are these days- which would you do? I'm not saying it's right but, it's a pie-in-the-sky idea that is idealistic but not realistic.

SI

[dawgfan]

I didn't miss your point, I disagree with you. And I think you're overlooking my point - if things continue as they are in the arena of public opinion, talking on the cell-phone while driving, even while using a hands-free device, may become illegal in many areas. This will hurt the cell-phone industry (more in image than anything else).

A proactive ad campaign on this matter could forestall such legislation from passing as well as improve their public image, which would pay off down the road in increased revenue. You seem to be looking at the issue in an extreme short-term cost/benefit manner, while ignoring the longer term potential benefits.

[cincyreds]

I waited until the young age of 37 before I got my first cellphone....(shrugs)

[rkmsuf]

the scourge of society


----------------------------------------
Cell phone addictive for users


By Cynthia Hubert
Sacramento Bee


SACRAMENTO -- Sergio Chaparro's information-technology students had more than just a healthy attachment to their cell phones.

When he asked them to shut them off for three days, they panicked.

"They were afraid. They were truly afraid," Chaparro, then an instructor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, recalled of the assignment last year. "They thought it was going to be a painful experience, and they were right."

Only three of about 220 students managed to complete the assignment.

To Chaparro, now an assistant professor at Simmons College in Boston, the experiment confirmed what he strongly suspected was a widespread psychological dependence on cell phones.

"I think it's critical that people realize their level of dependency, and possibly do something about it," he said.

Business executives. Soccer moms. Travelers. Teenagers. All of them adore their cell phones. But when does love turn into addiction?

A Korean study recently found that nearly a third of high school students showed signs of addiction, including paranoia, when they were without their phones, and two-thirds were "constantly worried" that they would miss a text message when their phones were off.

In Britain, researchers concluded that people are so intimately connected with their cell phones that they see them as "an essential item, an extension of self."

"No other medium has infiltrated society so widely and so quickly" to alter lifestyles, and "no other portable medium is used so frequently," wrote researchers for Teleconomy Group. They surveyed 210 consumers about their use of mobile phones.

Here in America, research on emotional attachment to cell phones has been sparse. But Joseph Tecce, an associate professor of psychology at Boston College, said it is a rich field to be mined.

Like substance abuse, Tecce said, excessive use of cell phones can lead to personal problems.

"If you try to exert control over your use of the phone and you can't do it, that's dependence. That's addiction," said Tecce, who studies "psychobiological behavior" including addictions and phobias.

"People who instantly reach for the cell phone every time they feel uneasy or anxious about a problem are relying too much on it," he said.

Ultimately, said Tecce, such behavior undermines self-reliance and reduces self-esteem.

"Like many rewarding experiences, leaning heavily on cell phones for advice or psychological nurturance is effective in reducing anxiety in the short term, but harmful in the long term," he said.

"How? By taking away control of one's behavior and placing it in the hands of others. After all, a problem might arise without a handy cell phone, and then helplessness rules the hour."

Too much yapping on the cell phone, Tecce added, also can lead to "a constant state of distraction" that "takes away a key component of happiness, the pleasure of total absorption of one activity to the exclusion of everything else."

Tecce recommended that cell- phone abusers "put themselves on a quota system, either so many minutes per day or so many calls per day" in an effort to break a serious habit.

Dependence on electronic devices is hardly limited to cell phones, said Bill Lampton, a communications specialist and author in Georgia. Electronic mail, he said, is equally addictive.

"Not long ago, my e-mail system was down for 24 hours," recalled Lampton, author of the book "The Complete Communicator."

"How did I feel? Isolated, marooned, in a sense almost rejected because I couldn't contact business and personal associates."

As for the cell phone, "It's not an exaggeration to say that it has become our contemporary pacifier," Lampton said. "As long as we're holding it, we don't show signs of unrest. "The difficulty comes when we lose our perspective on a tool that we're supposed to control -- not let control us."

David Mullinax, a lobbyist who does business in Santa Barbara and Sacramento, admitted an addiction to his BlackBerry, a wireless gadget that, among other things, transmits e-mail.

"Absolutely," he said. " 'Crack'-Berry' is appropriate nomenclature."

Despite his attachment to the device, Mullinax said, it often makes him feel "bludgeoned with information overload" and ultimately feeling "weak and ineffectual."

"It's like being caught in a wave and being tossed around like a rag doll, unable to control where you're going and not able to assimilate the information into anything truly worthwhile," he said.

"Society as a whole has created a dependency," he said. Marketing of cell phones is relentless, and access to pay phones and other "land lines" is growing more and more limited, Chaparro noted. So people feel they "have" to carry cell phones. And once they do, they tend to overuse them.

In his class last year, Chaparro said, he learned "amazing things" about the cell-phone culture of his students.

"For most of them, the phone was a lifeline in many ways," he said. "I had one student who went on a spring break trip to Florida, lost her cell phone, and her mom had to FedEx another one from home right away. She said, 'I didn't feel secure, Sergio. I couldn't even call to rent a car.'"

Against his better judgment, Chaparro said, he recently broke down and bought a cell phone for himself.

"And let me tell you, it's addictive," he said. "I have the very simplest one, the cheapest one ever, no camera, no text, nothing. I pay the minimum. But sometimes I feel I can't leave home without it."

hxxp://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050607/LIVING/506070340/1007

[sterlingice]

It doesn't sound very scientific- more anecdotal and sensationalized. However, I suspect that a more scientifically rigorous test would conclude the same thing.

SI

[Desnudo]

Cell phone companies must be ecstatic.

[Ksyrup]

I was going to bump this thread to mention that I think this problem would basically be solved if everyone who used a phone in the car was required to either be parked somewhere or using a hands-free system installed in the car.

My new car comes with HFL (Hands Free Link), a Bluetooth-enabling device that automatically synches with my phone everytime I get into the car (with the phone, of course!). There are two buttons on the steering wheel that control the HFL - one to initiate a call, give voice commands, etc., and the other to end a call or start over. I have programmed about 20 numbers into the car's memory, and all I have to do is say "phone home" and a pleasant lady asks me to confirm who I want to call and then dials the number for me. Or, if all I have is a number to call, I simply say "phone 18505555555" and it dials it for me. This system is probably more integrated with the car than an after-market system you would have installed, but I assume the features are pretty much the same. I never have to take my eyes off the road or my hands off the steering wheel.

I think this would pretty much solve the problem. At that point, you're basically no different than someone who is changing a radio station, inserting a CD, changing the temperature, etc., in terms of activation of the phone, and no different when talking on the phone than someone carrying on a conversation with other people in the car (or with themselves, or singing, etc.).

[rkmsuf]

I was going to bump this thread to mention that I think this problem would basically be solved if everyone who used a phone in the car was required to either be parked somewhere or using a hands-free system installed in the car.

My new car comes with HFL (Hands Free Link), a Bluetooth-enabling device that automatically synches with my phone everytime I get into the car (with the phone, of course!). There are two buttons on the steering wheel that control the HFL - one to initiate a call, give voice commands, etc., and the other to end a call or start over. I have programmed about 20 numbers into the car's memory, and all I have to do is say "phone home" and a pleasant lady asks me to confirm who I want to call and then dials the number for me. Or, if all I have is a number to call, I simply say "phone 18505555555" and it dials it for me. This system is probably more integrated with the car than an after-market system you would have installed, but I assume the features are pretty much the same. I never have to take my eyes off the road or my hands off the steering wheel.

I think this would pretty much solve the problem. At that point, you're basically no different than someone who is changing a radio station, inserting a CD, changing the temperature, etc., in terms of activation of the phone, and no different when talking on the phone than someone carrying on a conversation with other people in the car (or with themselves, or singing, etc.).

Is your car named KITT?

[Ksyrup]

That's the nickname we gave it (predictably).

I bought a Blackberry about 2 months ago and didn't even think about Bluetooth because I had nothing that I could use it with. I didn't realize until the day or so before I took delivery of my car that my phone was Bluetooth-capable. As nice a car as it is, that was just icing on the cake, to sit in the driveway and call my parents with the family in the car, and to have the car as basically one large speaker phone to announce our purchase. You talk and listen through the speaker system, and now I don't miss calls because I have the stereo on 30 - it automatically interrupts the music and displays the number calling in. It's pretty impressive. Especially since the freakin' thing actually works!

[rkmsuf]

That's the nickname we gave it (predictably).

I bought a Blackberry about 2 months ago and didn't even think about Bluetooth because I had nothing that I could use it with. I didn't realize until the day or so before I took delivery of my car that my phone was Bluetooth-capable. As nice a car as it is, that was just icing on the cake, to sit in the driveway and call my parents with the family in the car, and to have the car as basically one large speaker phone to announce our purchase. You talk and listen through the speaker system, and now I don't miss calls because I have the stereo on 30 - it automatically interrupts the music and displays the number calling in. It's pretty impressive. Especially since the freakin' thing actually works!

you should have taken part in the study.

[Ksyrup]

I really don't feel like I need a Blackberry, but I got one because it really didn't cost that much and even with the email/browsing service I pay for, I'm still paying less per month than I did on my old phone plan. But it's nice to be able to read email whenever I want.

[rkmsuf]

I really don't feel like I need a Blackberry, but I got one because it really didn't cost that much and even with the email/browsing service I pay for, I'm still paying less per month than I did on my old phone plan. But it's nice to be able to read email whenever I want.


they just suck you right in

[Ksyrup]

Basically. Actually, I got it because my boss has one and felt like I needed one as well. I guess so he can email me at 10:30 at night and expect me to answer. One thing it can't do is alert me to email from the off position, though. :)

[rkmsuf]

"And let me tell you, it's addictive," he said. "I have the very simplest one, the cheapest one ever, no camera, no text, nothing. I pay the minimum. But sometimes I feel I can't leave home without it."

you've been warned

[Ksyrup]

Calling people through the car is more addictive than the Blackberry itself. In fact, every time my daughter is in the car, she insists we call someone.

[Kodos]

My cell phone is never on unless I am placing an outgoing call. Which can be as few as 1 or 2 times a month. I'd say I'm not addicted just yet. :)

A healthy dislike for the general population probably helps. :D

[Subby]

I think the vibrate feature is what makes most cellphones addictive.

Of course I carry mine around in my buttcheeks, so maybe it's just me.

[BrianD]

A healthy dislike for the general population probably helps. :D

Nice, someone else who shares my feelings. I'd ask you to be my friend, but I'm pretty sure we wouldn't like each other. :)

The feeling that these people get when they can't use their phone is the same feeling I get when I have to use my phone. I like to have it for emergencies, but that is about all I use it for.

[JeeberD]

When he asked them to shut them off for three days, they panicked.

"They were afraid. They were truly afraid," Chaparro, then an instructor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, recalled of the assignment last year. "They thought it was going to be a painful experience, and they were right."


I would be afraid and I know it would be a painful experience because my girlfriend would kick my ass if she wasn't able to get ahold of me for three straight days...

[Passacaglia]

I was going to bump this thread to mention that I think this problem would basically be solved if everyone who used a phone in the car was required to either be parked somewhere or using a hands-free system installed in the car.

I think Chicago passed a law similar to this..from what I recall, the law they passed said it was illegal to have your hands on a cell phone while driving a car. I've heard that most accidents dealing with cell phones occur while the driver is looking at the phone to dial, so that makes sense. I know that I don't have a problem with talking on my headset -- it's almost better than talking to a person in the passenger's seat, since in that case, I'm more likely to turn my head to the side.

[sterlingice]

I would be afraid and I know it would be a painful experience because my girlfriend would kick my ass if she wasn't able to get ahold of me for three straight days...
I have a friend like this with his wife. I don't know how he can put up with it. She calls at least 5 times a day in the sense that that's how many I see if I'm over there for a couple of hours, probably more like 10 or 15. Now, I think whipped is a strong and harsh word, but wtf could possibly be so important that you need to be tied to that like a security blanket/noose.

SI

[JeeberD]

Well, she's not that bad, but if she can't get ahold of me when she wants to she starts to freak out. One night I was over at a friend's house late at night and left my phone in my car. When I left around three AM, there were eight...count em, EIGHT messages on my cell.

But that's an extreme case...

[Ksyrup]

This is like deja vu all over again.