[geeks] Stuff fo' sale

[Dan Duncan]

On Mon, 14 Aug 2006, Lionel Peterson wrote:
> >Why?  Studies show there is no significant difference betwixt the two.
> >Banning handhelds is a feel-good measure by people who don't know any
> >better.
>
> Lies, Damn Lies, and then Statisitics.
>
> My problem has to do with Personal Observation - I've seen too many people:
>
> "talk on the phone, eat a sandwich, and merge into traffic (twice this year)"
>
> "talk on the phone and merge into traffic, nearly broadsiding a car in traffic (once this year)"
>
> "Talking on the cell phone and not realizing the light has changed (twice this year)"
>
> "Talk on the cellphone and wander through the lanes with reckless disregard for the cars they cut off (about a dozen times a month)"
>
> and my personal favorite - "Eating ice cream with a spoon, talking on the cell phone, and pulling out of the shopping lot onto a highway (once this year)"

Is this the sum total of the boneheaded driving moves you've seen this year, or
were there others who either weren't using cell phones or you couldn't tell
were using cell phones?

> I don't believe studies, I believe my eyes...

Really?  So how many people driving around you are using handsfree units?
How many people are driving while stupid because they're fiddling with
the radio, drunk, having a conversation with a passenger, running on too
little sleep, or are otherwise distracted?

Simple answer:  YOU DON'T KNOW.  Your eyes can't tell you this.

> (Not trying to blast you - your question was fair, but that is the basis of my angst)

I don't displute that using a cellphone can be distracting for drivers.  The studies
prove that.  The problem is that moving them to a handsfree setup doesn't accomplish
anything.  (Don't get me wrong:  I'm in favor of improving safety.  I think a lot of
drivers would best be handled by dragging them out of their cars and stringing them up along
the side of the road as a warning to others like pirate corpses, but maybe that's
just me.)  It's also a slippery slope towards restricting my use of ham radio
whilst mobile and I'm really not a fan of punishing a few million people because
of the 150 or so you see being morons in a given year.

-DanD

-- 
#  Dan Duncan (kd4igw)  dand at pcisys.net  http://pcisys.net/~dand
# "The cells from just one foreskin can grow a football field worth of skin."
# From a Discovery Channel program about the cultivation of artificial skin.