DISTRACTED DRIVING: Why Do Most People Never Use The Bluetooth In Their Car?

I’m driving during rush hour and the gold CC in the lane next to me slowly creeps to the left, one tap on the horn and the driver corrects.   As I pass by I noticed the tell tale phone to the ear, the driver was talking on the phone while driving and not paying attention.   A few miles later I see a Mercedes almost rear end a pick truck, and again I look and see the driver holding a phone.  It is simply another day in a rush hour commute where half of the drivers are not paying attention and frankly I am getting tired of it.

 I understand texting and driving is dangerous proposition at best, but in these cases the drivers were not texting, they were simply talking.  The saddest thing of all is in both these cars have Bluetooth as standard equipment but neither driver was using it.  An argument can be made that both of these drivers would have been far less distracted if the phone was in the passenger seat and they were talking wirelessly.  Think about it for a bit, it is pretty easy to drive with both hands and talk to a passenger, so does it matter if they are physically located in the vehicle or somewhere else?

Every time I picked up a new car before I drive off the lot, I pair my iPhone to the car.   It isn’t like this is rocket science, and it only takes a few minutes to do, but the simple fact is that most motorists don’t bother to do so EVER.  I positively hate driving with a phone to my ear, so to me it is a necessity not an option.

 Why is that so hard for the average driver to do?  Why take the risk?  Should the Feds step in and mandate that a phone in motion can only be used when pair to a Bluetooth device? Problem solved then and there.

 I have never been a fan of the battle against distracted driving by banning texting behind the wheel.  Why? It is simply is a very small portion total problem.  The law needs to cover almost anything that takes both hands off the wheel for an extended period of the time.

 What activities do that?

Well, texting, talking with the phone to your ear, tuning the radio to a station not on the presets (maybe because you never bothered to read the manual) , and stuffing that Big Mac in your mouth just to name a few.   The point is that to not ban the device, but force the driver to keep both hands on the wheel most of the time.  It is pretty simple if you think about it, a beep goes off if one hand is off the wheel for a period of time and continues to beep until both hands are back on for a period of time.   Both hands on the wheel is arguably better than just one. 

After all us it too much of a price to ask that all drivers be involved in the process of hurling a vehicle at a high rate of speed down the highway?

 Your thoughts?

 

stampfer - 3/10/2014 3:52:05 PM

+2 Boost

Couldn't agree more. It is illegal where I live and people still do it.

stampfer - 3/10/2014 3:52:09 PM

+2 Boost

Couldn't agree more. It is illegal where I live and people still do it.

TheSteve - 3/10/2014 4:50:44 PM

+2 Boost

Do you think the driver would be substantially less distracted with two hands on the wheel while talking on the phone hands-free, as compared to using one hand to hold the phone to their ear? I doubt it, if they’re driving a car with an automatic transmission.

The issue isn't "holding a phone to your ear while driving distracts you from driving." It's "focusing on a phone call while driving distracts you from driving." You can legislate against that by banning mobile phone use while driving. But you can't legislate against being similarly distracted by focusing on a conversation with a passenger while driving, though.

This is a tough problem, because some people are far more easily distracted than others, and far worse drivers than others. Do we create laws for the lowest common denominator and ban mobile phones while driving, or have severe fines for those who cause an accident under such conditions? And then there’s the risk of fleeing the scene for fear of being caught and convicted and having to pay the hefty fine.

222max - 3/10/2014 5:22:31 PM

+1 Boost

I have my hands-free set up and it is less distracting than a handset by multitudes. It doesn't allow me to dial calls while the car is in motion so I can only And too many people who rely on the handset are not only talking but texting or checking for texts. I think this is one reason there is such a pandemic of turn signal neglect. With a handset in one hand and the steering wheel in the other you're probably not going to signal, unless you're some kind of 3-armed mutant.

I see tons of cars which I am certain have the hands-free feature which apparently going unused by their drivers. I wonder if it's just a matter of laziness to set it up and learn how up works.

MrEE - 3/10/2014 6:43:00 PM

+2 Boost

Latest new car purchased had BT standard and the one helpful item the salesperson did was to go through pairing my phone, not that it was complicated but it was great to drive away with it already done. Also walked through the other settings that the vehicle let you configure. Maybe these owners don't even know what features their cars have.

iamdabest1 - 3/11/2014 12:46:26 AM

+1 Boost

i think a lot of these people dont know how to set up bt, i know my parents always ask me to do it for them when they get new phones or if its not syncing.

blconn - 3/11/2014 8:19:33 AM

+1 Boost

if the states would enforce the laws and start writing tickets for driving while talking then people will change their behavior. it worked amazing well when they made wearing a seat belt the law - do the same with driving and talking.

drpesq - 3/11/2014 12:59:23 PM

+1 Boost

Im an atty. and car nut and I say simply make the penalty a statutory mandatory minimum. This means that no prosecutor or judge has the authority to reduce or suspend the fine. In my state anyone caught drunk driving pays approx. $1,000.00 in court costs the first time around. Make the distracted ticket half that and mandatory and you'll see people injuring out bluetooth (which is simple enough now that a 3 yr old can set it up).

My dad, 66, (Loves his automatic corvette almost as much as his hershey's chocolate) has 2 cars with navigation and bluetooth and still talks on his phone while driving and asks me for directions when he goes out of town...

drpesq - 3/11/2014 1:02:38 PM

+1 Boost

Also - for what its worth the worst offenders on this list are Mercedes drivers IMH. The highest percentage of BT equipped cars with owners not using handsfree. It kinda fits since they, as a group, are technology averse.

Sparty - 4/6/2014 5:54:58 PM

+1 Boost

I'm a Lexus tech specialist so I deliver cars and troubleshoot simple connection issues each work day. The contrast between European auto manufacturers and Japanese is their viewpoint towards the customer. The Japanese do research upon research to figure out how to design complicated systems to operate easily. Conversly with the few BMW and Mercedes vehicles are conversely backwards...meaning the "vehicle" is this way and "you" the owner bend to adapt to how it operates. I sort of feel bad for the European car owners because it's quite a bit more work not only to set up but to operate on a daily basis.

On the topic of distractions behind the wheel, I've found that the older I get the more effort it takes to handle multi tasking any distraction, either handsfree or with a phone to my ear. The "only" solution would be for the phone manufacturers to make certain systems within the phone inoperable while the phone itself moves on planet earth above a certain speed. More government is never the answer.