During the holiday season, I found myself on the road a lot and sitting in traffic like many of you. While at a light, I decided to count the number of people who were on their cell phones, with the phones glued to the side of their heads, and not using hands-free devices. At multiple lights, at least half of the people counted were guilty of this. I took another survey after the holidays and, at one point, seven of the 10 people on their phones weren’t using them hands-free.
For Christmas, I gave two of my kids Bluetooth devices. Now that they are licensed drivers, I think it’s important to help ensure that they are driving safely. In Georgia, using your cell phone without a hands-free device while driving is not against the law, but my question is should it be? What about your state?
Gwen says:
February 11, 2009 at 11:19 am
Just a thought……a Bluetooth is definitely better than holding a phone to your ear while driving, but I’ve always felt the real safety issue is the driver being preoccupied having a conversation in the midst of trying to drive. Even if you are half-engaged in the conversation, your full attention is now diverted from the task at hand which should be driving. As dangerous as driving is, we all should give it our full attention at all times. Being a mom of two boys (14 & 10), I admit that I am distracted many times while driving so I know it is just a fact of life, but I would ask that we all think about advising our kids to not talk at all while driving, not even on a Bluetooth. Most times, the need for a conversation is not an emergency and can wait until we are safely at our destination. Especially for teenage drivers who are inexperienced and easily distracted anyway, I’m just not sure even a Bluetooth is such a great idea……just my thoughts.