[LINK] Mobile phone use set to be banned in vehicles

[Ivan Trundle]

On 07/02/2011, at 2:02 PM, Brenda Aynsley wrote:

> After all its not the use of my hands that causes my 
> distraction but the use of my head so lack of hands free is not the 
> primary problem here.

Perfectly put, Brenda. The report goes on in some detail about other distractions, including inbuilt car functions, especially the appearance of voice commands for vehicle control.

But it won't matter much, as all cars will be self-driven by the time that distractions (and laws mitigating their effect) are sorted out.

It's good to put these things in perspective: I was travelling with one of my very elderly neighbours to a nearby location (i.e. a path that my neighbour takes frequently) and made the mistake of engaging in conversation en route.

The driver became increasingly confused about simple directions and road rules, to the point that I realised that for the past 20 years, the driver had probably taken this route without passengers, and no distractions at all.

Ultimately, we will never return to the golden age of having 'just a vehicle', so legislators had better get used to it, either that, or we will have draconian laws that enforce us all to put drivers in the 'front cabin', whilst we sit in the glass-windowed limousine compartment.

iT