AAA rates cellphone conversations as responsible for 1.2 percent of distraction related accidents.

In-person passenger conversations comprise 11 percent of those accidents. Is anyone suggesting that we pass legislation prohibiting talking with our friends while driving our cars?

There is risk in life. Don't like it? Don't drive.

Actually, yes there is: in some states teenagers can only drive with family members until a certain number of months after they've earned their drivers' license. (can still drive by themselves but not with their friends).

But really, what a selfish thing to say. That your ability to instantly have a mindless conversation with someone outside of your car is more important than being a good driver and being a safe driver.

Are you serious?

Say whatever you want; quote whatever statistics you want.

I've been driving for almost forty years: I've never seen such regularity of seemingly "clueless" drivers on the road until the last ten years or so--and, when I'm able to see them, they INVARIABLY have a cell phone glued to their heads. The correlation is overwhelming (which is NOT to say that everyone on a cell phone drives badly; but virtually everyone who IS driving badly is on a cell phone).

StevieN:

Say whatever you want; quote whatever statistics you want.

I've been driving for almost forty years: I've never seen such regularity of seemingly "clueless" drivers on the road until the last ten years or so--and, when I'm able to see them, they INVARIABLY have a cell phone glued to their heads. The correlation is overwhelming (which is NOT to say that everyone on a cell phone drives badly; but virtually everyone who IS driving badly is on a cell phone).

i'm 27. you're totally completely right. if there's a car driving erratically at 5pm, they're on a cell phone. people on cell phones drive like they're driving drunk, which is almost exactly the same as a drunk driver. sure, they can handle the road fairly enough at a certain alcohol level. only difference is that if a cop pulls you over you get a ticket and don't lose your license for a few months.

SirSwirly:

AAA rates cellphone conversations as responsible for 1.2 percent of distraction related accidents.

In-person passenger conversations comprise 11 percent of those accidents. Is anyone suggesting that we pass legislation prohibiting talking with our friends while driving our cars?

There is risk in life. Don't like it? Don't drive.

I think what you meant to say was "Hey, there is risk in life. Don't want to get hit by an asshole talking on a cellphone? Don't leave yer freakin house".

How about this -- JUST SHUT UP! No matter who you are talking to or what you are talking about, what you are saying isn't as important as you think it is. People just talk too much in general. Yack, yack, yack. Everywhere I go I hear (without trying to) absolutely mindless conversations about everything under the sun. Seriously, how refreshing would it be if people would just be quiet for awhile? It's not a question of not talking on a cell phone, it's a question of just not talking, period. Do the world a favor and keep your thoughts to yourself.

Happymisanthrope: your example is fascistic and scary. Your counter argument is a strawman and conspicuously ad hominum.

CSF: Yes, I am.

StevieN: Silly me for quoting "statistics". In further statistical news, your anecdotal evidence scientifically verfies only your own ignorance of how we ascertain facts.

Comportment: That goes for you as well.

Mister Person: No, that is not what I meant to say. I said what I meant to say, perhaps you should read it more carefully.

TimH: Your unhinged screed ironically sums up how I feel about your response, and the rest of these flailing, impotent attempts at argumentation as well.

Agreed...and I have been driving for over 50 years.

I am sure that someone here will say that I'm too old to drive, but I was trained on a race track and my reflexes are faster, my attention more focused on driving, my knowledge of the motor vehicle code greater than most. If I feel that I am unable to drive, I will give up my keys. I have had a bluetooth since they came out, but still prefer not to answer the phone while driving. I wait until I can stop.

Should give Swirly a little break, after all, the AAA study he's citing was from the mid/late 90's. How many cell phones were there then - hardly any? If only he had gone back a few more decades, he could have shown that there were no cell-phone related accidents at all! A more recent NHTSA study indicates wireless devices (including cell phones) impact at around one-third.

Sir Swirly reminds me of a friend of mine in the 1980s. He swore up and down that he drove better after he had been drinking. Nobody could convince him otherwise. Well, he eventually died in a motorcycle accident, losing control and hitting a tree. His BAC at the time of the accident was .16

Stupid is, as stupid does.

nick5911: I'm not sure how you verified which "AAA study" I was referring to without asking me. This is particularly bewildering because AAA is, to my knowledge, not generally lauded for their crack research team. In fact the AAA documentation that I was referring cited its statistics from a University of Pennsylvania study conducted in 2001. Oh, and for your information, in 1997 there were 55 million cell phone subscribers in the United States. Do either of these facts matter to you? Sadly, I doubt it.

tjcervesa: I find it interesting that a man who names himself after an alcoholic beverage is deriding both a deceseaed friend and a perfect stranger for stupidty, but to tell you the truth, it doesn't really bother me. See, I don't think that you really think I'm stupid; I think you just disagree with me and in your frustration you're sublimating cognitive dissonance into hostility. This is a normal response for those who lack emotional sophistication. Have you considered the republican party?

This will be my last post. I am sufficiently convinced that no one on this thread has anything meaningful to contribute.