Re: Driving With Cell Phones and Guitars

[John Allred <jallred@rtimeinc.com>]

Thus spake Huw Powell <human@nh.ultranet.com>:

>I believe talking on the phone can require more of your available
>consciousness.  There is a tendency to form an "image" of the other
>conversant not necessary when they are in the car.  Also the other party
>can't see the traffic and suddenly be quiet when they see the driver's
>attention is needed - they can't co-drive, giving you the slight benefit of
>another set of eyes on the road, or yell "hey look out for that truck stupid
>!" - unless of course they are in another car nearby!

I must respectfully disagree.  As a pilot, I simultaneously control a
vehicle in 3 space and frequently use the radio, with a bunch of
visualization tossed in for good measure (the controller is vectoring a
learjet behind me -- it is going to run me over?  Is the controller trying
to make my life interesting by vectoring me into a mountain?  where is the
student with horrible radio technique and a stark inability to hold
altitude?  ad nauseum.)

What makes this work in the air is to prioritize your tasks.  The
priorities go like this:
    aviate -- keep the greasy side down, look for traffic
    navigate -- where am I going?
    communicate -- radios as necessary.

Note that the radio is _dead last_!!  Flight Instructors often summarize
this to students with the phrase "don't drop the airplane to fly the
microphone".  It is entirely proper to tell a controller "stand by" if
you're busy with a higher priority task.

Taking this idea to a car means that you tell the guy on the other end of
the phone to "wait a minute" if you get busy while driving, much as you'd
tell a passenger to pipe down in the same circumstance.  If you're in the
middle of a hectic lane change and the phone rings, maybe you don't pick it
up.

Judgement is the key here, not some "one size fits all" law that says you
can't talk on a cell phone while driving (which, no doubt, some idiot
Congresscritter is concocting right now.)

John Allred
1990 Coupe Quattro

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John Allred (jallred@rtimeinc.com)
RTime Inc, Seattle, WA  http://www.rtimeinc.com/