Cell phones while driving...

[MNDEM2004]

Should cell phones be banned while driving? I was behind a guy yesterday going 45 mph in a 55 mph zone. he was in the fast lane holding up traffic. He had no idea what was going on around him.

[Nite Owl]

1. They are in NY

though only sporatically enforced. I wish they would ban women from putting on makeup while driving and men shaving and people eating full course meals too. They are not aware of what they are doing when they are doing these things.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

2. No but people who can't walk and chew gum at the same time

should be banned from using them.

I don't think they should be banned outright, but headsets should be used.

[cynatnite]

5. I use the speaker when I'm driving

I've got a place near the radio for my phone and I use it while driving. I can't drive worth a shit without both hands.

[BlueJazz]

3. I think they should be banned. Americans can't drive worth....

..a damn when there are not any distractions...put a cell phone in their hand and it's like asking a Monkey to play the star bangled banner.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

4. Considering I was rear-ended today...

by someone yapping on a cell phone, I'd have to say yes!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. People can't walk when they're talking on them either.

I've watched them step into the street against traffic, oblivious to everything around them. I've been bumped into in the grocery store, and had to maneuver around them while they stand in the middle of the effing aisle with their shopping carts, yammering away.

[bilgewaterbill]

7. I quit using mine

when I missed my off-ramp and the next one while talking to my office. Had a headset on, too. Just wasn't focused on where I was going. "Woke up" when I hung up.

[bookman]

8. Yes

And it is said that the mental distraction is the worst aspect of cell phone use while driving. Even those with "handless" phones don't give 100% to driving.

I think they should be banned. Heck, need to make a call? Pull over. I actually saw a school bus driver on a cell phone last week.

[Thor_MN]

9. I would love to have a nice powerful transmitter in my car

Something strong enough and broadbanded enough to push into their conversation and tell the idiot to pull the hell off the road if the conversation is really that important.

I realize that some people can multitask and talk on a cell phone and drive at the same time, but most people can't. There are studies that indicate that talking on a cell phone has about the same imparement as a couple alcoholic drinks.

I wouldn't lose a wink of sleep if they were banned.

[Shananigans]

10. No.

As with most laws passed, it is the direct result of 1% of the people causing 100% of the problems. As an avid cell phone user and driver, I have never been in a car accident in my life. I don't talk on my phone when I need to navigate difficult traffic situations and have never had a near miss because of it.

I would say that MOST cell phone users are very responsible with their usage. To be quite honest, I have much MORE of a problem with the men who shave on their way to work, the women who put on their lipstick and those who shuffle through CD's or paperwork while driving. It's just as much of a distraction, if not worse!

Just my opinion...