Liberty and Justice for All!

In an attempt to try and deal with people using their cell phone while driving, Oprah is promoting the “no phone zone” day today.

Back when I was doing the radio show, we had a guest who discussed the idea of hands free devices. She confirmed to us that driving with a hands free device is no less distracting then driving while holding your cell phone to the ear. The fact that you are having a conversation is the distraction and not how you are having that conversation. (Weirdly enough, studies have also revealed that CB radio usage is different than cell phone usage). The Oprah petition does explain that you can still be distracted while using a hands free device.

One minor issue I have with this is that Oprah (and those involved) are equating texting while driving with talking on the cell phone while driving. Texting requires a lot more time spent looking at the cell phone, so I do not see how you can honestly equate one with the other. I do understand that they are trying to tackle all the ways that a cell phone might distract you, but I think texting while driving should get the emphasis here as being more dangerous than driving while talking on the phone.

I also personally believe that I am a supertasker. Supertaskers  can drive while speaking on the phone without losing any reaction time. Personally, I do not think that this is because I have some super ability to do so I think that because I do not make the conversation on the phone more important than my surroundings that I do not allow myself to be distracted. Now, my “supertasking” abilities have not been tested so I cannot verify that I am one. However, I am fairly confident in my ability to drive while talking on the cell phone. I also would never send texts while driving a moving vehicle (though I might respond to one at a red light).

But ultimately my argument on this issue always comes back to this one very simple idea. There have always been bad drivers on the road and there always will be. I remember driving well before everyone had a cell phone. I remember using my horn just as much on people who did stupid things while driving as I do today. Why? Well, it is likely that the people who think it is ok to text while driving would find some other distracting thing to do if they didn’t have a cell phone in the car. Why? Because they are bad drivers! Bad drivers will be bad drivers regardless of what is being a distraction to them. The woman in front of you who just cut you off while texting her boyfriend is just as likely to be putting on makeup while cutting you off had her phone not been in the car. The guy who just crashed into you because he was distracted by a phone is just as likely to be distracted changing the radio station or searching for a CD or putting ketchup on a cheeseburger. One of my UNO professors actually said he was driving across the Causeway and a guy was steering his car with his knee while playing the guitar. I would even argue that the guy who cut you off would be just as likely to cut you off with no distractions. Why? Because he is a bad driver!

Bad drivers are always going to find a way to be distracted and even if they are not distracted they will still keep driving poorly. I also doubt that bad drivers are going to sign that petition. But hey, if Oprah doing this causes some people to say “wow, maybe I shouldn’t be texting while driving and perhaps I should be more careful on the road in general” then perhaps at the end of the day it is a good thing.