Cell Phones and Driving Don't Mix: Harvard Medical Video

Thank you, Doctor, for reminding us how easily distracted we all are. Recently I was driving my newly pregnant daughter to the market and as I glanced over at her became distracted by how pretty she looked. As I started to glide into the right hand lane, she very excitedly said, "Mom! Baby on board!"

Obviously there is no point in getting all my cancer screenings and taking preventative meds if I don't pay attention on the road, but there are also all those other people to think about.

"There's no doubt about it, you are taking a risk"

I agree, and I think that people should have better judgement. Many people have good judgement when they use cellphones in cars, just like they do when they are in movie theaters and shut them off, or in meetings at work, or anything else.

Why don't we try to incent people to be more careful and polite instead of saying that there are some people who do not know how to behave in life, so everyone else has to be treated like an idiot because these people are unable to understand modern life?

What about listening to the radio, or reading, or putting on makeup, or shaving, or eating, or smoking, or having sex, or any number of things people do while driving that they probably should not. I remember one day commuting seeing a guy in his car practicing the trumpet while he was driving - with both hands. You cannot tell me that is more safe that talking on a cellphone?

I have to agree, there are some things more dangerous than the phone.

Oh, Bruce K! You made me laugh with the trumpet thing. Tell me it isn't so!

Bruce K,

You say that people "probably should not" have sex while driving? "Probably" not? Talk about distractions.

Our whole legal and moral system, despite what we see on TV or say in public, seems to be built on what stories can be told and what evidence there is. These days there is so much slack written into the law so clever lawyers can get rich clients exhonorated, while milking money from everyone else. With all the video equpment we have these days I wonder if we should not allow police to issue tickets when in their judgement the person is doing something that threatens "the people".

If someone is in an accident and their black box video shows they were not paying attention for whatever reason to their driving, they were negligent, and it is not an accident, and they should lose their driving privilege.

If people are driving along doing whatever but not causing a problem I don't think they should be cited.

For example, years ago one night about 3am in the morning I had been called into work. I was on the way home, and the streets were completely empty. I was pulled over by a cop who said I did not come to a complete stop at a stop sign. Maybe I did not come to a complete stop, but if that was so, it was probably one of a very few times I have not in decades of driving. The guy was flat out wrong, but, even had be been right, so what. In this case, running a stop sign would be a reasonable cause for being ticketed.

The law would get more adherents and policemen more respect if there was an actual crime, and a real punishment for people to incent correct behavior. Because the law only works in terms of generating fines, and not for managing people's behavior or politeness we have a very violent, self-righteous scary society these days.

Giving that a little thought might bring much more positivity that just banning everything in sight.

thanks for the info

This reminds me of a study I saw when I was in school - "Alcohol linked to poor decision making"

G. Jefferson
Medical Billing Representative
AMA Liason