Ban of blue tooth mobile device in cars
By paula27661
@paula27661 (15811)
Australia
March 8, 2009 11:47pm CST
Here in Western Australia we've had a ban on talking on mobile phones in cars for a while and if you are caught chatting on the phone while driving you will be fined. I think that is fair enough, as it is major safety issue.
I heard on the news just a couple of days ago that now, due to the increasing number of fatalities on the road, there is talk of banning all sorts of phone communication from vehicles including all hands free and blue tooth phone devices etc... This could cause a problem especially to people who rely on communicating in their vehicles for their business; my husband is one of those people.
What do you think? Do you like the idea of banning hands free phones from cars?
4 responses
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
9 Mar 09
Yeah here in California, that year they banned talking on cell phones in the car - thing is, it is to hard to enforce. THey aren't going to pull someone over htey see talking ... well they can but they know that the person will hang up and deny it and they can't say "show my the phone so I can see the time of the last call". And since calls can just be deleted and no record kept....
If you are talking on the phone you are not paying attention your driving. You haveonly one had on the wheel and that is dangerous. Your mind is half on your driving and half on the conversation... just to much adds up to accidents. I hae been MANY times nearly hit or side swiped by a car cause the person was on a cell phone and not watching where they were going - or what was coming toward them.. goog thing I was watching or there'd been an accident.
But once that passed they started on the text messaging while driving. That is worse than talking!!! Haven't heard the outcome of that, but still... even with a blue tooth, yes your hands are free, but your mind and attention is still split between the driving and the conversation.
I think all cell phones should be banned in the drivers seat of a car. You are there to drive. If you are to busy or have other more important things to do, pull over and stop or do them before you start.
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
10 Mar 09
You are right but there are a few people who are up in arms about the hands free situation because it is their job to drive and talk and I can appreciate how they feel. There are other distractions in the car, CD player, radio; sometimes the person sitting next to you can be distracting. It's a tough one to solve; it would help if everyone took responsibility and kept these distractions to a minimum. Thank you for the response! 
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
10 Mar 09
You're right...and the thing about privacy rights etc... but you have to draw the line somewhere. And those doing it have to understand that it isn't just their lives that is involved.. it is those in the back seat and those in the cars around them.. they might not be involved in the accident, but they might have caused it because they were yaking on the phone and didn't have their attention or their hands where they should have been to be driving carefully and safely.
@jason1308 (1586)
• France
10 Mar 09
I think it is a load of twaddle. Yes it's important to use hands-free equipment with the phone, such as a blue tooth headset, but how different is it really talking on the phone compared to talking to a passenger, or listening and talking back to the radio, or even singing along to the radio.
In my eyes this is no different. Otherwise, they will all have us driving around on our own , with no music on nothing, just so we can concentrate on driving. And I bet you, there will still be the same amount of accidents.
If someone is a bad driver, they will always be a bad driver, whether they be talking or not talking on the phone.
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
11 Mar 09
Hi Jason.You know I often think about that. I have my child in the car a lot of the time and I know that can be pretty distracting, yet I cannot change the fact that she's there and she's a young kid demanding attention. I can see your point too, where do you draw the line? You are probably right in saying that it all comes down to careful driving versus carelessness. I appreciate your response, thanks!
@aplaza (630)
• Netherlands
10 Mar 09
The thing with talking on the phone is that your brain acts differently than when you have the radio on for example. And that causes accidents. If it's only a dent then what the heck right? But what if you or the others end up with something like a whiplash and their lives are pretty much ruined for the rest of their lives?
I really understand that some people really, really rely on being able to use their phones in the car...like your husband. But we got along fine without them about 15 years ago. If we needed to make a call we just stopped at a booth. Not handy, not practical but a lot safer. So would it really kill us to pull over to take or make that call? Maybe if more people did that we could get our car insurance rates slashed!
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
11 Mar 09
You made a good point about the insurance rates hadn't thought of that. I do agree with you that people's safety is far more important than taking a phone call. In my husband's case I think that if it were up to him he would do without the annoying phone calls, but he's a sales rep and his boss doesn't quite see it that way. It's a shame that everything almost always comes down to money. Thank for responding and here's to safer driving!
@frozenimage (464)
• United States
9 Mar 09
It is important that when driving, the only thing to concentrate on is driving.
