Scott Miller
Perspectives Assistant
After six years of trying, California Sen. Joe Simitian, D — Palo Alto, finally got his anti-cell-phone-while-driving bill, SB1613, passed (effective July, 2008), with Gov. Schwarzenegger supporting the passage. However, the bill still allows hands-free set ups for drivers.
Usually, I am against the government getting too entangled in people’s lives like this, but when it involves the safety of everyone, it should be supported.
Consider this: Perhaps the bill should not be viewed as a way of punishing those drivers who chat on their phones, but protecting the innocent other drivers, who do not choose to take the risk of driving while talking. However, they are still assuming a risk of bodily harm that they should not have to, simply because they are on the road at the same time as drivers who do talk on their phones.
Therefore, the bill has my support, in theory. However, to be effective on the scale that legislators want it to be, the bill must expand to include hands-free devices, as well.
The real threat of talking while driving is not the popular misconception that the driver needs both hands on the wheel — it is that talking in itself distracts the driver. It creates a cognitive distraction from driving that other tasks do not require, i.e., changing the radio station and even having conversations with other passengers.
It creates a tunnel vision effect, where the driver, although looking at the road, will not register much of what they see, according to drivenowchatlater.com. Studies have shown that distractions do not cease with hands-free gadgets.
In 2004, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)and the University of Iowa tested whether hands-free devices yield safe drivers. The study found that they do not.
Hands-free equipment caused as much of a distraction, if not more, because of the increased time required to dial a phone call, as compared to a hand-held phone.
“The distraction risks associated with cell phone use do not diminish with hands-free devices,” said NHTSA spokesperson Rae Tyson, to the Detroit News on Oct. 18, 2004.
That is pretty self-explanatory.
The problem is not that drivers do not have both hands on the wheel — the problem is that drivers are cognitively distracted, hindering their ability to focus on their environment.
If the government is going to ban using hand-held cell phone devices, it must also appreciate the risk that hands-free equipment presents, and equally combat that threat. While the bill is a nice start to solving the problem of talkative drivers, it needs to go one step further and fully acknowledge and address the problem of cell phone use while driving.
So while it is noble that Schwarzenegger and Simitian are trying to combat the problem of chatty drivers, there is still much to be done. The legislature needs to fully combat the problem of distracted drivers head on. It is a good start to enact bill SB1613, but it is only the tip of the iceberg.
Long have hand-held cell phones been the scapegoat of those looking to blame high accident rates on something. But it is time to start seriously looking at, and contemplating, the other factors of this problem, such as the misconception about hands-free set-ups being a viable solution to the problem.
Let’s stop kidding ourselves into thinking that hand-held phones are the only problem.
Take it to the next level and do what a government is supposed to do, protect innocent citizens from the others who are irresponsible and endanger everyone else.
09-28-2006