NTSB Pushes For Ban of Cell Phone Usage While Driving

[motorhead]

I wish they would ban them all together. Ban computers too while your at it.

[Ruin]

I have built in bluetooth in my car and use and abuse it (mostly for music). I have found in the 32000 miles I've logged in 18 months that wireless calling is no different than talking to a passenger. I drive as I would when I have someone with me.

But, something magical happens when I put the phone in my hand and put it to my head. It's like I'm tipsy. I hate it, and avoid it at all costs. Same thing with texting. Taking your eyes off the road for that long is awful.

So I support anything that keeps hands on the wheel and eyes on the road (as much as a stereo would). But hands-free calling? Give me a break Big Brother.

[sugar'n'spice]

That's already been a law here for a while now...

[2010SS2SS]

Read an article somewhere that driving and talking on the cell phone is equivilant to having 4-5 drinks in an hour. Attention and ability to react is hendered more than most people realize. I use the bluetooth as much as possible and my company has instituted a "stop to use phone" directive but if you did that everytime your phone rang, you would never get anything accomplished

[Sir Nuke]

I'm all for it.....the ban mentioned by the OP that is.

[Zabo]

They're pushing for what we in aviation call a 'sterile ****pit'.

That means, the ****pit door is shut and locked, and the PIC/first officer are the only living beings allowed in the ****pit between wheels up and taxiing off the runway. They're also limited to a few actions: Talk to the tower, fly the aircraft, monitor the aircraft's systems.

That's it. No music, no drinks, no casual conversation, no nothing. Anything otherwise CAN and many times HAS gotten pilots fired.

So the NTSB wants to take similar steps and it starts with the phones. Have fun, drivers; I institute this in my car all the time. Seat belts, phones off, STFU and let me drive. I even try to limit GPS to just an old fashioned mapquest printout that I memorize before fly- er driving.

[Nutbutt]

Ban the use al together ! That way I would finally have an excuse at work for not answering my phone !
I would gladly give it up to get others to pay attention while driving. Anyway to ban stupidity while were at it I hear its even a bigger problem.

[austinjames]

i read this thread while driving. tapatalk whats up

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by austinjames

i read this thread while driving. tapatalk whats up

don't die.

I'm all for this, minus the no hands-free thing. I hate, and I mean HATE it, when I am driving down the road and I see someone in the lane next to me texting.

[The Shadoww]

WHAT? No that is stupid. Did you guys read the OP? Idk about Canada, but in CA that is NOT the law. It is perfectly acceptable to use a HANDS FREE device. Saying that people are not capable of driving and talk is tantamount to saying once you enter a vehicle you suffer from mental retardation. If you can not talk and drive then we should make a law that says you may not speak while in the car because that is the same thing.
An Zabo, idk now big your plane or what you fly but both my parents are licensed pilots, they own a Sesna 182 and now have some quick little low wing 4 seater and they talk all the time. Granted, they do not hold a conversation but they will talk about what is going on and what we are going to do when we land. Furthermore, i have flown their new plane (it's a stick btw, which is FUN) and it was a lot harder than driving you have the ailerons, stick, windage, other plans, altitude and an abundance of other things to worry about. In a car you only have about 3 more things than walking- Wheel, gas, breaks.

I'm sorry but saying people are not capable of talking on the phone and driving because some statistic shows that 20% of car accidents occur while people are driving on the phone doesn't matter if you don't take into consideration that on average 20% of the time people are driving they are on the phone. (understand that these statistics are made up, i just generalized to make my point)

HOWEVER, texting and driving, or using your phone in any way that breaks your LINE OF SITE with the road for any reason should be prohibited. It is dangerous and takes lives. If i remember correctly from school, every 16 minutes a teenager is fatally injured in a texting related crash.

What i'm trying to say is that there is a point at which to stop at. There is a time when you just need to say enough and think to yourself "well maybe it WAS just and accident, maybe no one/ nothing is to blame." Anyway that is my 2 sense, take it or leave it

[austinjames]

Originally Posted by stieger

don't die.

I'm all for this, minus the no hands-free thing. I hate, and I mean HATE it, when I am driving down the road and I see someone in the lane next to me texting.

exactly people suck enough at driving as it is, let alone on the phone not paying attention at all.

[Zabo]

Originally Posted by Black On Black On Black

An Zabo, idk now big your plane or what you fly but both my parents are licensed pilots, they own a Sesna 182 and now have some quick little low wing 4 seater and they talk all the time. Granted, they do not hold a conversation but they will talk about what is going on and what we are going to do when we land. Furthermore, i have flown their new plane (it's a stick btw, which is FUN) and it was a lot harder than driving you have the ailerons, stick, windage, other plans, altitude and an abundance of other things to worry about. In a car you only have about 3 more things than walking- Wheel, gas, breaks.

Light aircraft are different, I was referring to commercial aviation (IE Airlines, Air Cargo).

What I highlighted/bolded about keeping convo to a minimum about flying, what to do when they land, where they're going.. typical ****pit convo which was what I was indicating earlier.

But even though it may seem like flying is harder, you have to think how much more complex driving can get with increased traffic, idiots behind the wheel, increased distractions nowadays.

Like most crashes, it's pilot error. And with cars, you said driver error. Distraction can and does come from cell phones. So Cellphones can lead to driver error, and a crash. That's what they're applying here. What they've seen developing in the automotive/road world, and what they've seen in the aviation world, cross referenced and turned into that conclusion.

TLDR: NTSB thinks Cars are turning into Airplanes.

However, if anyone else here is a pilot or has worked with the NTSB, it's common knowledge that they have no capacity to change rules. They can only offer suggestions which the FAA (or in this case NHTSA) would take into account in rule/law making.

Will something come of this? Probably not. Why? Because Flying and Driving are apples and oranges. But I'm trying to give a frame of reference as to why this seems so drastic and insane.

[Steve Dallas]

I agree that they should "ban" texting and driving. To me, any distracted driving should be something to be concerned about. However, I do think that not enough driving instructors really truly discuss how to not be distracted while still doing things in the car.

My dad was a flight instructor, so I learned how to fly from him. One of the lessons I learned in planes applies to cars as well. In planes, you scan the sky, the instruments and rinse and repeat. You should never be focused on one thing.

In a car, my eyes go from looking ahead to checking all 3 mirrors to looking left and right...even if I'm on the highway. If I'm changing the radio, I never let my eyes linger on that, but instead a quick glance and go back to driving.

I rarely ever initiate a call when driving, but I do pick up using the bluetooth and radio buttons to answer and hang up the phone. Before bluetooth, I would always keep my focus on driving, and if I was in a situation like a merge onto the freeway, I'd let the person know I was busy and concentrate on the driving until I was in a situation where I could devote a small time-slice of attention to the call itself.

They really don't teach this concept in drivers ed. I think it's a learnable and teachable skill. The problem is, that too many drivers probably shouldn't be driving in the first place...then add the phone and it's disaster.

[coolman]

Does this mean when they pull you over they will make you walk a straight line while talking on your phone? LOL