Re: State Farm files patent for system to suppress calls and text while driving

On 09/06/2024 13:52,
... the Luddite ...
 > Newyana2 wrote:

    Many states now ban handheld cellphones.

Here in the UK, it's an offence to be using a handheld phone while driving.

It makes little
difference. And the cops who should enforce it are busy on
their own phones. Or they're busy giving out tickets for
speeding or "rolling stops". Why? It's a lot easier to just
stand around waiting to hand out another ticket. And nearly
every road has an unrealistically low speed limit. So it's catching
fish in a barrel. Catching people using cellphones is not
so easy.

Here in the UK, there are plenty of CCTV cameras around the towns, and many have number plate recognition.

   But that still leaves the issue of talking on a bluetooth
connection without holding the cellphone, or using maps
apps with the cellphone in a holder. I routinely get stuck
behind people driving erratically, looking at their map program
on the dashboard.

Probably their driving would be far more erratic if they were looking at a printed map.  An onscreen map can alter the scale to suit the circumstances, update automatically as the car moves, and issue verbal instructions as junctions are approached, a printed map is stuck at, usually, quite a low resolution scale which may need glasses to read, and every time you look at it you have to work out anew where the car is now, and it can't warn you that you are approaching a junction where you need to turn off.
I regularly use my phone to navigate for me, it's bloody useful having that help, leaving me to concentrate more on the actual driving, and thus be a safer driver.

The phone should be disabled, period,
except for 911 calls, as long as the car is moving...

No, using the navigation app on my phone allows me to concentrate more on the actual driving, and thus makes me a safer driver.

Though
of course it would mean that some people would have to learn
how to read a map. Maybe the ticket fees could be used to
fund free courses. :)

We had to do orienteering exercises as part of CCF at school, so I can read a map perfectly well, but I can't safely when I'm driving, because it takes your attention too long off the road ahead, and I need glasses to read the map, but not to drive.
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