USAAC - AA Pilot Lounge

What grinds your gears?

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What grinds your gears?

#1
In so,California a new law passed making it illeagle to talk on a cell phone

while driving unless you have a hands free unit.

The problem I see is that Most people that use cell phones while driving

simply cant talk and drive,Even with hands free they still screw up traffic.

Just another way to bring in revenue.

This really grinds my gears. Image

What grinds your gears?

#4
This is a law in most european states for years already. You either have to use a ?hands free unit? or you?ll have to stop your car and to park beside the road, while talking on the phone.

If you don?t and you get caught, you?ll have to pay an administrative penalty of 40 ?, which is ~ 62 US $.

Even doing it while riding on a bicycle still costs you 25 ? (~39 US $).

It has caused too many bad accidents and although many complained back in the time the law has been announced, the majority of traffic participants thinks it is a good law and has its right to exist. I think so too.... ;)

What grinds your gears?

#5
I use to be a major offender of this law! I even use to have 2 cell phones going occasionally while driving, one in my earpiece and one on speakerphone! Even though it was dangerous I must admit that while driving for work in a company mini van, going to communication locations out of service and fielding all sorts of calls and conferences on the way, I was very aware of my surroundings and safety.

That however has changed. I no longer feel safe using one phone while driving. Maybe Because I have a new smaller cell phone and I also hit 40 years of age ! ( ok 41 ).

( 10 years or better of using cell phones on the job)

What grinds your gears?

#8
The cell phone is not the only distraction for drivers but it is the most visible. It seems that hands free devices do not entirely solve the problem as it is the conversation that creates the distraction rather than the handling of the phone itself. Scientists at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore verified this by studying brain patterns of people who multitask. They found that when the brain processes audio signals, there's less activity in the visual signal area of the brain, and vice versa. A more readily understood example for AAers is the number of times you get shot down while typing lengthy complaints about everyone else's behavior Image

I think it's clear to most people that cell phone usage in vehicles should be outlawed. Perhaps the reason for tardiness in doing so is the fact that the worst offenders are those responsible for passing the laws.

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