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[coloradotom]

Drinking and driving use to be the biggest Killer on our roads.  Now its the cell phone, especially texting and driving.

Treat it like drinking and driving, huge fines, and license suspension, first offense and much works on second offense just like drinking and driving.  I think that could help.

Here it you get a DUI you get a box in your car that you have to blow in - for the duration, I think it's 2 years for the first time.

For texting / cell phone infractions I would be entirely supportive of installing a 'jammer' like type thing where the cell phone can't be used in the car. Get caught once, 6 months. Second time, 2 years, etc.

Luckily the cell coverage out here is awful so this isn't too big of an issue until you get past the hogback out towards Denver, then the cidiots are out in full force.

[iski]

There are several threads here about Bluetooth headsets on bikes & cell phone use.  Many new cars have Bluetooth, more so every year.  Hands free communication is getting easier & easier.

What's the take on this, Bluetooth cell phone use ok/not ok?  Ok for cars & bikes both?  Not ok?

As for me, I use Bluetooth in the car, have for years, no issues.  On the bike, nope, not why I ride the bike, to talk on the phone.  Not just because it is a distraction, it's because I spent too many years with a cell phone at my ear for hours & hours a day for work. Have even quit the CB except for very rare instances.

Interested in opinions, if there are any. 

[Twolanerider]

There are several threads here about Bluetooth headsets on bikes & cell phone use.  Many new cars have Bluetooth, more so every year.  Hands free communication is getting easier & easier.

What's the take on this, Bluetooth cell phone use ok/not ok?  Ok for cars & bikes both?  Not ok?

As for me, I use Bluetooth in the car, have for years, no issues.  On the bike, nope, not why I ride the bike, to talk on the phone.  Not just because it is a distraction, it's because I spent too many years with a cell phone at my ear for hours & hours a day for work. Have even quit the CB except for very rare instances.

Interested in opinions, if there are any. 

Honestly don't know what accident stats suggest so this is just a layman's take on it.  But a truly hands free conversation on the phone that takes no more of my attention than answering with the same motion that I might change a radio station doesn't worry me much.  My own impression is that there is no more (and potentially less) distraction here than comes with a conversation with another passenger in the car.

Instead it's all the crap that takes a driver's focus off the windshield.  Looking down to text, to see who has texted, to make sure the Candy Crush has been appropriately crushed or eaten or whatever is done with a crushed candy or even overly intrusive navigation software.  I can have a conversation from behind the wheel.  Just don't ask me to do more or; as is the problem for so many, perhaps even allow me to do more because I might just be too damned not do allow the distraction.

As for Bluetooth coms on the bike; I've done it.  Was coincidentally on a trip home in Europe when Nolan's first released there quite a few years ago and picked one up as I cam home.  So probably had one of the first ones in the States as they weren't released on shore here for about six months after. 

Bluetooth coms for an intercom is no different than wired intercom and it is certainly less distracting than cocking your head back to hear the BSR yell from the back seat.  Coms for a phone call on the back... well... again (and the stats may suggest otherwise) I don't see it as distinctly different than any other conversation on the bike.  After the first six months or so I had mine, however, I never messed with phones on the bike again.  Not due to some heightened level of distraction but just because the bike is some place I didn't want to be bothered and (fortunately for us) it is also a place that most civilians to riding wouldn't think to disagree when you say, "oh, I was on the bike, sorry, no way to take a call."

[BigLew]

Already expressed my opinion. Outlaw phones in anything that moves. I mean make them unusable. Making it illegal is good but almost unenforceable. I know Bluetooth is better but is still very dangerous. Maybe incoming a message tells you if you have a message that way you can stop and check but that all. Even those of us who think we can Bluetooth and drive are distracted. Pretty sure it will not happen phone companies will lose billable time. But it needs to happen. We are too stupid to do the smart thing.

BigLew

[VaEagle]

It really doesn't matter whether you talk on a phone by Bluetooth or use your hands....several studies have shown that the danger aspect of using a phone while driving is in the fact that to carry on a conversation the brain gets distracted and the driver has the reaction time of a drunk driver. Maybe Bluetooth allows someone to keep their hands on a wheel/handlebars etc. and their eyes up but their brain has to register the conditions outside the vehicle and respond in a timely manner to avoid an accident.
Many drivers can operate a vehicle distracted under "normal" conditions....it's the sudden unexpected things that pop up that lead to accidents due to inability to respond correctly and quickly.
As I have stated earlier and others have said too, quick fix is to block all phone use while vehicle is moving by technology not laws. Otherwise we need to hope computer driven cars develop soon do they can be on autopilot for those who don't enjoy driving and just want to be transported to work.....
Remember when cars/trucks and even bikes were sold based on features such as power,speed, handling and feel of driving on the open road not by all the electronic bells and whistles it had?

[helimd]

BigLew, I'm with you on this one.  Although, even though I said it "tongue in cheek", I still think the death penalty would be the best way to deal with it.  I'm afraid this one just hit too close to home for me.  That being said, I am a firm advocate of the "eye for an eye" method of punishment.  But that's just me.  I have enjoyed all of your responses.  Thanks

[iski]

I see the car Bluetooth deal differently.  People carry on conversations in cars, front & back seat passengers.  Does that also distract the driver?  Even if the driver is not engaged in the conversation & only listening to his passengers talk, that could also be distracting.  When we outlaw speaking aloud in cars is when I would be ok with not allowing hands free phone conversations.

All sorts of things in cars distract drivers - air conditioning/heating controls, power seats, radios, all sorts of gadgets inside cars. Some people must talk on cell phones while they are inside their vehicles for work, can think of several.  Am tired of government interference & the nanny state telling us what we can/cannot do. 

Texting & driving  is a bad idea and should be illegal all over.  Using a cell phone without Bluetooth - same deal.  But outlaw speaking aloud in a car?  Not in favor.

[FLSTFI Dave]

Already expressed my opinion. Outlaw phones in anything that moves. I mean make them unusable. Making it illegal is good but almost unenforceable. I know Bluetooth is better but is still very dangerous. Maybe incoming a message tells you if you have a message that way you can stop and check but that all. Even those of us who think we can Bluetooth and drive are distracted. Pretty sure it will not happen phone companies will lose billable time. But it needs to happen. We are too stupid to do the smart thing.

BigLew

So my questions is what is the difference with my talking to my wife sitting in the seat next to me in my car, than me talking to her on the phone via blue tooth with the phone in the center console?  I would actually think it would be more distracting with her in the car due to the tendency to want to look at some one talking to you to see expressions.  On the phone blue tooth, where you can not touch the phone, it would be easier to keep your eyes on the road.

Same can be said about being on the bike.  What is the difference between using the phone blue tooth or talking to your wife on the back seat via intercom?

I agree all the above can be and are distracting.  I just feel a passenger in the car or on bike talking is more distracting.

[grc]

I see the car Bluetooth deal differently.  People carry on conversations in cars, front & back seat passengers.  Does that also distract the driver?  Even if the driver is not engaged in the conversation & only listening to his passengers talk, that could also be distracting.  When we outlaw speaking aloud in cars is when I would be ok with not allowing hands free phone conversations.

All sorts of things in cars distract drivers - air conditioning/heating controls, power seats, radios, all sorts of gadgets inside cars. Some people must talk on cell phones while they are inside their vehicles for work, can think of several.  Am tired of government interference & the nanny state telling us what we can/cannot do. 

Texting & driving  is a bad idea and should be illegal all over.  Using a cell phone without Bluetooth - same deal.  But outlaw speaking aloud in a car?  Not in favor.

Yes it does, especially when involved in a heated conversation rather than a simple comment or two.  As mentioned earlier by VaEagle, many studies have already shown that carrying on a conversation, as opposed to just having music playing in the background, engages your mind and distracts from the attention needed to drive safely.  Multi-tasking is a hoax perpetrated by those who want to do whatever they want whenever they want, regardless of the risk to others.

Nothing of course will actually be done to effectively stop the use of mobile devices while driving.  We have way too many people these days who believe they are more important than life itself and thus must always be available to any and all.  Talking, texting, and tweeting have somehow become inalienable rights to the self important.  No politician is going to propose a law to stop them.

Jerry

[Indenial]

Several times I have pulled up to a young girl who is on the phone texting away at a stop light.  I'll honk my horn a good 5 seconds ( a little longer than necessary). When she looks over, I'm shaking my finger (pointer) at her and nodding my head back and forth as in "no".   It's fun the watch their reaction. Most are embarrassed and put their phone down.  Some look and keep right on texting.   Be careful there is not a car in front of you when you try this.  And probably good idea to not have your wife along.

[ultrarider123]

So my questions is what is the difference with my talking to my wife sitting in the seat next to me in my car, than me talking to her on the phone via blue tooth with the phone in the center console?  I would actually think it would be more distracting with her in the car due to the tendency to want to look at some one talking to you to see expressions.  On the phone blue tooth, where you can not touch the phone, it would be easier to keep your eyes on the road.

Same can be said about being on the bike.  What is the difference between using the phone blue tooth or talking to your wife on the back seat via intercom?

I agree all the above can be and are distracting.  I just feel a passenger in the car or on bike talking is more distracting.

I don't know, Dave.  I've pulled up and passed many a car that had two or more folks or on the bike with two riders and when passing/pulling along side, I noticed they were talking or having a conversation but you couldn't tell it from their driving (there are exceptions).  However, you can always tell if the person is talking on a cell or texting in the way the vehicle is swerving/slowing or speeding up/etc. in that the operator is well past paying attention to the task at hand....driving.

I bet the OP of this thread had no idea his decision to stop riding would end up here....  

[helimd]

Quite to the contrary, Haird.  My reason in starting the thread was to see if any of you had seen or experienced the same things that, ultimately, cost my good friend his longtime girlfriend, motorcycle, and a great deal of money.  Not to mention the physical costs. 

I spent my life as a professional pilot.  In 20,000 hours of flying, I've had multiple engine failures, fixed wing and helicopters, crashed a few of each, and never feared what the outcome of my career choice could be.  I used to feel the same about riding motorcycles.  Not so sure anymore.  Just as flying stopped being fun, so has riding.  Just me, guys, not trying to influence anybody else.

Be safe, all.

[iski]

Helimd, the decision you made is right for you.  At some point, one way or another, we will all stop riding.

For me the biggest distraction was when we had small children or when they were babies. They can be VERY demanding & much more distracting than any cell phone.  Outlawing babies and kids from cars would seem to be the answer, but is not practical.  Lots of things distract us when we drive.  Have seen ladies painting fingernails and toenails, guys reading newspapers on the steering wheel, pets on the dash, coffee spills, & eating stuff is very common.  Saw a guy & a gal engaged in shall we say an act of oral gratification in the worst traffic on I-95 going through Miami at 70 mph. Much swerving around but no wreck.  All sorts of distractions, is part of driving.  Attention spans are short so even with hands at 10 & 2 with eyes on the road ahead, the mind may be a million miles away. No way to legislate that.

Some biker as well as other friends are no longer here because of distracted driving. It infuriates me, am thinking of 2 where cars just ran over 2 friends who were doing absolutely nothing risky or wrong - just riding as they should be. Both gone forever. One driver was reaching for something on the floorboard & hit my friend head on.  Tragic.

[2k]

This thread made me think of how obsessed with techno todays world is. As has been noted easily 50%, probably more, of travelers are on the phone, pad, etc. In "the old days" how many lines did you see at the corner pay-phone? I can't remember one. Just a thought

[helimd]

Back in the late 80's, early 90's, I flew EMS helicopters in Spokane, Washington.  Saw quite a bit of blood and guts during that time, but one of the most memorable was an vehicle accident on I-90 near Moses Lake.  Back in those days, we were told about the severity of the call and responded accordingly.  Anyway, we landed on the Interstate and saw the end results of one of the most incredible accidents that I had ever seen.  Some model of station wagon was upside down in the median, with the driver sitting a ways away from 3 sheet covered bodies.......little bodies.  Her children. 

The lady had lost control of the car after reaching across the seat to smack one of her 3 unsecured kids for causing a ruckus.  This lady was the only occupant with a belt on, the only survivor, and no doubt witnessed her kids being ejected to their untimely deaths.  One part of me was angry, the other part sad for what she had just gone through.  She probably still suffers, to this day.

I quit flying EMS shortly after that one.  I spent too much time taking those memories home with me.  Still have a hard time sleeping.  The point is, label me a quitter if you will, but this recent accident put me in a position to quit again.  Just like then, it's not so hard to give up. 

Safe journeys to all of you.  Just remember, blue side should always be up.  Be vigilant, my friends.