CY 187 761 Mazda Double Cab

[Albatross]

 

 

I could never comprehend people getting angry when THEY are breaking the law.

 It's the "caught with your hands in the cookie jar" syndrome

[BBN]

Smimby is right, we need to lead by example not stick our heads in the sand.

 

If we drive through red lights do we really think our children won't and if we think this is a ' minor infringement' then is it still a minor infringement when our child does it and kills someone or themselves?

[Patchelicious]

*Sigh* I do not break the law copperhead. I have a Parrot BT system in my car. I do not hold my phone to my ear when I drive.

 

But I would vehemently object if someone had smugly and self-righteously told me to get off the phone if I was one of the protagonists in this scenario.

 

I might also have told him to F@ck-off...... And, if I wasn't a cyclist, the altercation may have left me thinking that cyclist were indeed lycra-clad ar$eholes.

Dude, maybe relax a little. This has now turned into an attack on the OP who did not the break the law. I think you have assumed some things like "smugness" "sticking heads through windows" "self righteousness".

 

There is NOTHING wrong with politely pointing out someone breaking the law, there is however lots wrong with the reaction as well as breaking the law in the first place!! It's the LAW! And at the rate that cyclist are being run over and the lack of action taken against drivers breaking the law, it is to be expected from us, actually its our obligation to try and make the roads safer in an amicable way.

 

As for your admission to how you would react, well that says a lot.

[GLuvsMtb]

There's solid research out there that shows that talking on a hands-free while driving is as close to dammit as dangerous as talking on the phone itself.

 

I know that the one is against the law and the other isn't, but if you know that the 'legal' one is just as dangerous, would you continue to do it?

Kindly point me to this research. 

 

I use my hands free all the time. I answer calls, disconnect calls and make calls all from the controls on my steering wheel. It is the same as having a conversation with a passenger, or changing a radio station. 

<edit> in fact, my most dialed numbers are voice activated, so I don't even have to take my eyes from the road for a second.

 

Remember that everything you read on the interwebs is not true. 

[Lurch the stalker]

*looks into crystal ball*

 

I foresee another thread getting locked over differing opinions....

[cas247]

Try doing that to a taxi dude, 

[GLuvsMtb]

You have just ruined my life!!  

Jammer Koperkop. Ten minste bestaan Kersvader  

[Patchelicious]

*looks into crystal ball*

 

I foresee another thread getting locked over differing opinions....

The law is not an opinion....

[Guest Smimby]

Try doing that to a taxi dude, 

 

 

I have and they normally say, sorry....

[Skubarra]

Kindly point me to this research. 

 

 

 

Yep its news for me as well.... But apparently true

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1188107/

 

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199702133360701

 

Interesting from wikipedia on why its unsafe to talk on a phone but not unsafe to listen to passangers- wikipedia is of course 100% true, always...

 

A study by a University of South Carolina psychology researcher featured in the journal, Experimental Psychology, found that planning to speak and speaking put far more demands on the brain’s resources than listening.

 

Edit - oh, and according to wiki hands free sets are banned in Japan and in some US states

[BBN]

*looks into crystal ball*

I foresee another thread getting locked over differing opinions....

WHAT..........over a warm and boisterous chat in our 'smug little world of moral certainty'......NEVER!

[GLuvsMtb]

Yep its news for me as well.... But apparently true

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1188107/

 

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199702133360701

 

Interesting from wikipedia on why its unsafe to talk on a phone but not unsafe to listen to passangers- wikipedia is of course 100% true, always...

 

A study by a University of South Carolina psychology researcher featured in the journal, Experimental Psychology, found that planning to speak and speaking put far more demands on the brain’s resources than listening.

 

Edit - oh, and according to wiki hands free sets are banned in Japan and in some US states

What should be banned is eating fast food while driving. Now THERE's a Friday topic for y'all. 

[Dicky DQ]

No SAGecko, he was breaking the law. If the light turned green was he going to stop mid-sentence and put his phone down OR hold up everyone behind him until his call is finished? No, he was going to continue driving half-distracted, struggling to change gears & keep control of his car while holding a phone in one hand and thus presenting a danger to people around him.

 

Like others pointed out, there are things like hands free sets & bluetooth available in Cape Town which is commonly used, so hubbers are not holier-than-thou when pointing out he is wrong.

However, at that point he was not breaking the law. You cannot speculate as to what he would or would not have done as it has not been done yet.

 

Is there any proof of his intent to drive while talking on the phone? he could just as easily have put the phone on speaker and left the phone on his lap or in the console and carried on. He would then be using the handsfree.

 

I Drive a Hyundai, so that may make things a bit different from a Mazda, but at least it has number-plates on, is licensed and only drives on........ ho what the hell maybe it does none of the above.

[Patchelicious]

What should be banned is eating fast food while driving. Now THERE's a Friday topic for y'all. 

Much better.

 

Fast food kills more people than cellphone talking drivers

[Hackster]

Google 'distracted driving', there's plenty of studies. The main gist of it is the following:

 

The National Safety Council has compiled more than
30 research studies and reports by scientists around
the world that used a variety of research methods,
to compare driver performance with handheld and
hands-free phones. All of these studies show handsfree
phones offer no safety benefit when driving
(Appendix A). Conversation occurs on both handheld
and hands-free phones. The cognitive distraction
from paying attention to conversation – from listening
and responding to a disembodied voice –
contributes to numerous driving impairments.

 

So, given that you understand this observation, and believe it to be true, are you going to stop using your handsfree device?

 

It's an interesting scenario, a reversal of the 'don't follow laws blindly if they don't make sense' argument; in this case, the law lags behind the research.

[Matt]

Mod note:

 

Thread contents under review. A number of comments have already been removed and warnings issued.

Personal attacks, baiting and offensive language will not be tolerated.