Traffic is picking up on our highways, so perhaps it's time Saskatchewan joins other Canadian jurisdictions in issuing a cellphone ban while driving.
It doesn't take much imagination to see how a person using a cellphone could be distracted while driving. The dialing process usually requires the driver averting his or her eyes from the road for a few seconds at least. Think of it as a backseat passenger reaching forward and covering the driver's eyes for a few seconds. Scary, isn't it?
A conversation on the phone is no more distracting than a conversation with a passenger in the vehicle - except the driver has to give up one hand to hold the phone. So now imagine that same backseat passenger reaching forward and grabbing one of the driver's arms for a period of time. Maybe not as scary, but it might explain why sometimes drivers don't signal turns or lane-changes.
Texting is a whole other problem. It is like the backseat passenger grabbing the driver's arm with one hand and covering his eyes with the other. OK, definitely time to pull over.
Don't ever kid yourself, it happens a lot.
People laugh at the idea of a woman applying makeup while driving, or someone changing clothes behind the wheel. We would all cringe at the sight of someone behind the wheel of a moving vehicle holding up a paper or magazine and reading while they drive.
So why should we be more tolerant because it's a phone?
Cellphones are a marvellous invention and it's probably quite wise to have one handy when driving in case you are in an accident, witness an accident or break down on the highway. But your vehicle should be at a complete stop, out of the way of traffic, when you do so.
There is no excuse for an open laptop on or beside the driver. Even if he or she is only using it at red lights, it is still a distraction.
Hands-free cellphone devices, with voice recognition dialing solve some of the problems, but not all. But then, a conversation is a conversation whether it's on the phone or in the vehicle itself.
Save your texting and laptop use for when you are done driving, or get a passenger to do it for you.
Drivers not giving their full attention to the road in front of them and what's going on around them should not be on the road.
Hang up and drive
- Published on May 30th, 2009
- Published on July 10th, 2009
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Staff ~ The Moose Jaw Times Herald
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Comments
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- Dwight
- - September 18th, 2009 at 17:10:44
The sooner a law is passed banning the use of Hand Held Cell Phones, the better.
They should all have to be a HANDS FREE SYSTEM .
I was hit from behind two weeks ago by a driver that was dialing a # on his cell.
I had a witness with me, but he was man enough to admit what he was doing. -
- Unsurprised
- - September 18th, 2009 at 16:28:57
I drive regularly for my job. I see people texting all the time. Although it is not a charitable thought, all I can hope is that Darwin's theory of Natural Selection occurs rapidly.
My friend has a picture on her cell phone that she took while she was a passenger in a vehicle travelling down a busy stretch of the TransCanada Highway. Her husband was passing a vehicle. The driver of that vehicle had a book sitting open on her steering wheel. She held coffee and a cigarette in one hand, and was using the thumb of her other hand to text.
I've often thought of starting a web site where people could report the license plates of these mobile threats to public safety. -
- Pattie
- - September 18th, 2009 at 16:08:00
I agree 100%! As a pedestrian, I can't count the number of times people on cellphones have pulled right in front of me to turn when I have the right of way with a walk light. Many times I have had to step back onto the sidewalk or I would have been hit and these people, young and older, still had no clue a pedestrian was even on the corner! There are enough reckless drivers out there without throwing in another distraction. How many people have to be killed before something is done!
