Witnessed an accident today

[ifcar]

Not too significant, a rear-end collision in rush hour traffic. Car was coming down a wide-open merge lane and the Explorer in front of him (two cars behind me) came to a stop just as the other car was trying to come in.

After the accident, the driver of the car behind me -- between me and the struck Explorer -- almost immediately hung up his cell phone.

[Speed_Racer]

Funny that it takes an accident for people to hang up their cell phones while driving.

[cawimmer430]

The cops are going to knock on your door in 3...2...1...

[ifcar]

The cops are going to knock on your door in 3...2...1...

Come again?

[S204STi]

I've never been a first hand witness to a wreck other than the one I was in.  I've been first on the scene to a spectacularly gruesome and fatal one though... not fun.

[r0tor]

One summer interning I was commuting back and forth between NJ and PA.... Had a 5 car accident break out around me on the PA turnpike (literally the two guys in front wrecked, guy aside of me wrecked, and both guys behind me) and then later that summer I had another 3 car pileup involving the car to the left of me.

[Morris Minor]

Well, this prolly deserves a thread of its own but, I admit, when I use my phone when driving, I cannot afterwards remember a damn thing about about the chunk of my journey occupied by the duration of the call. When you drive, most of the time your brain is on autopilot, listening to music, thinking about "stuff" etc. But when you are in a cellphone call, it's as if the slice of attention your brain gives to autopiloting gets cut in half.

I have not been using my soon-to-be-replaced piece-of-shit Bluetooth headset, so that may be a part of it - holding the Blackberry up to my ear. But somehow I think the problem is not wholly to do with whether you have the phone itself or a handsfree device stuck in your ear.

[AutobahnSHO]

Well, this prolly deserves a thread of its own but, I admit, when I use my phone when driving, I cannot afterwards remember a damn thing about about the chunk of my journey occupied by the duration of the call. When you drive, most of the time your brain is on autopilot, listening to music, thinking about "stuff" etc. But when you are in a cellphone call, it's as if chunk of attention your brain gives to autopiloting gets cut in half.

I have not been using my soon-to-be-replaced piece-of-shit Bluetooth headset, so that may be a part of it - holding the Blackberry up to my ear. But somehow I think the problem is not wholly to do with whether you have the phone itself or a handsfree device stuck in your ear.

Multiple studies have shown that it makes no difference whether you're hands-free or not. The brain concentrates on the phone call. They don't know why exactly phone calls take up so much more brain-juice than just talking to another passenger, either. The same thing happens while trying to watch TV and talk on the phone.

All US Military bases are now "cellphone-free" - except that you CAN use a hands-free. Plus, the speed limits are usually 35mph or slower. But still, all the accidents I've seen, someone was yakking on the phone.
(They totally hide that fact from the MPs- to avoid a ticket/ culpability.)

My cell doesn't ring much, anyway- but I look at the caller and ignore it sometimes, or answer and tell them I'll call them back. Friends must think I'm weird because if I'm driving with the wife, I have them talk with  her- she tells them I'm driving and relays.

BUT some studies have shown cellphone talking while driving is as bad or worse than Drunk Driving.

[ifcar]

Don't know if the relaying is actually any improvement over a regular cell phone call. It's still a telephone conversation more than a conversation with a passenger. I think the same distractions would apply.

[r0tor]

Multiple studies have shown that it makes no difference whether you're hands-free or not. The brain concentrates on the phone call. They don't know why exactly phone calls take up so much more brain-juice than just talking to another passenger, either. The same thing happens while trying to watch TV and talk on the phone.

Studies have shown the difference is a person to person conversation will take a pause if a dangerous traffic condition is present

[S204STi]

Studies have shown the difference is a person to person conversation will take a pause if a dangerous traffic condition is present

I would agree with this observation.  I have been known to zone out of a conversation in the car because of a situation in traffic that requires my attention, but the same isn't necessarily true if I'm on the phone.

[ifcar]

I would agree with this observation.  I have been known to zone out of a conversation in the car because of a situation in traffic that requires my attention, but the same isn't necessarily true if I'm on the phone.

You know that the person sitting in the car with you can see the same traffic conditions that you can, while someone on the phone cannot. A passenger can tell why you're ignoring them for a moment and they can talk to you at any point in the car ride.

[S204STi]

You know that the person sitting in the car with you can see the same traffic conditions that you can, while someone on the phone cannot. A passenger can tell why you're ignoring them for a moment and they can talk to you at any point in the car ride.

Exactly.

I like Will's idea of having his wife do the talking for him.  I'm going to implement that I think.

[ifcar]

Exactly.

I like Will's idea of having his wife do the talking for him.  I'm going to implement that I think.

Doing the talking is one thing; just relaying a conversation back and forth is essentially using a passenger as a telephone, with all the problems therein.

[cawimmer430]

Come again?

You witnessed it. The cops want the details.

[ifcar]

You witnessed it. The cops want the details.

It was bumper-to-bumper traffic. There were dozens of witnesses. And there's not too much question about whose fault it is when you drive into a stopped car.

[cawimmer430]

It was bumper-to-bumper traffic. There were dozens of witnesses. And there's not too much question about whose fault it is when you drive into a stopped car.

Ah.

[MX793]

I saw one last week.  I was on a busy 4 lane and there were all of these police cars on the side of the road responding to some sort of call (not sure what, they had a driveway blocked with yellow caution tape and there were at least 7 police vehicles) and I came to a stop at a light just after the house where all of the commotion was happening and then I hear a "bang".  I look over my shoulder just in time to see a mid 90s Accord bouncing off the back of the Maxima that was right next to me in the other lane.  The Honda driver was obviously paying more attention to the police and not to the traffic ahead.  The good news is there were plenty of cops right there to witness it and take down an accident report.

[Raza]

I would agree with this observation.  I have been known to zone out of a conversation in the car because of a situation in traffic that requires my attention, but the same isn't necessarily true if I'm on the phone.

For me, I just stop paying attention to the phone call.  I focus on the road, and often ask people to repeat themselves. 

[AutobahnSHO]

Doing the talking is one thing; just relaying a conversation back and forth is essentially using a passenger as a telephone, with all the problems therein.

Sure, the phone call message is harder to get right.
But I stay focused on the road better. (And sometimes the caller just says, nevermind- call me when you're done driving. )

[hotrodalex]

I barely talk on the phone, much less answer it, so it's not much of a problem for me.

[SVT666]

What really pisses me off are the people that text while driving.  Talk about fucking dangerous.

[S204STi]

What really pisses me off are the people that text while driving.  Talk about fucking dangerous.

+1, I want to drag them from the cars and park the phone up their ass sometimes.

I also just remembered that I once watched a car slide off the interstate in MA and roll over in the median, and a truck I was following down 34 near Loveland oversteered into a guard rail.  In neither case was anybody seriously hurt as far as I know.

[SVT_Power]

What really pisses me off are the people that text while driving.  Talk about fucking dangerous.

I text while driving 

(While waiting at red lights only though)

[SVT_Power]

I've been meaning to pick up one of those douchey bluetooth things since I'm on the phone pretty frequently while traveling between sites for my job...

[CALL_911]

What really pisses me off are the people that text while driving.  Talk about fucking dangerous.

YES.

Today was the first day of school, my physics teacher got into a bad accident, after a dude who was texting cut a red and T-boned him.

He suffered some nerve damage near his hip, and something's up with his hand, and he has a lot of difficulty writing. He said that the dude who hit him was in a riced Civic, while he was in his FJ Cruiser. The Civic was in baaaad shape, while his car suffered some cosmetic damage and needed a new axle.

[Cookie Monster]

I've been meaning to pick up one of those douchey bluetooth things since I'm on the phone pretty frequently while traveling between sites for my job...

Just put your phone on speaker phone and you're good to go.

[SVT_Power]

Just put your phone on speaker phone and you're good to go.

my resonator-less machine is probably a little bit too loud as background noise

[SVT666]

my resonator-less machine is probably a little bit too loud as background noise

Ha!  My Focus is too loud for speaker phone too.  It's that wicked exhaust and intake that SVT put on this thing.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Ha!  My Focus is too loud for speaker phone too.  It's that wicked exhaust and intake that SVT put on this thing.

Wow, you think that's loud? You should drive a Swift sometime.