Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger?

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

From the same report:

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

Obviously this depends on the type of conversation. If you are mindlessly discussing the weather there probably isn't much difference, but I don't mindlessly talk on the phone. For me, phone calls tend to be more focused, and often involve answering questions and solving problems, which by their very nature are distracting.

When talking to a live passenger you also have another pair of eyes on the road. Typically people shut up when the driving gets hairy, but there is no way for the person on the other end of the phone to know this. Talking on the phone is like dealing with a screaming child in the back seat.

Tom

 

more distracting

I disagree...

The talking on the phone ends with the disconnect... the kid is there for the duration of the drive.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

The only distracting part of bluetooth to me is the initial calling or answering. After the connection is made, just the talking part is no more distracting to me than talking with a passenger.

I really like the hands-free system as I was guilty of talking on the cell phone while driving before getting the hands-free system. It is much better now.

The voice commands are also nice in that I can watch the road and drive while giving commands.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

Part of the problem is that an accident situation changes the driving from routine to critical in an eye-blink. When you have less than 100% of your attention and concentration on the road, you will react to a critical situation less rapidly than you otherwise would. Sometimes nothing you could do will avoid an accident. Other times you can avoid an accident if you react rapidly enough.

If you are doing ANYTHING other than driving with 100% of your attention, you increase the chances of an accident by the difference between your actual attention and 100%.

Maybe you are a good enough driver that you will not cause an accident due to talking on the phone. But if you are talking on the phone you will be less able to avoid an accident that results from another driver's carelessness.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

I'd certainly agree with that, but have logged a little bit of
headset time here and there where absolutely needed.
.
Driving is a visual *and* auditory experience for me. I usually
have both front windows at least cracked open a little -- that's
my ears, and the road noises coming in give me a *lot* of
information. Such as when someone else is accelerating or not,
how badly they're doing it, whether they might have a damaged
tire or not [esp. trucks], whether the truck is getting back
into his turbo to pass or may be running up against his speed
limiter in which case I should back down a little to help his
pass, etc. The condition of someone else's exhaust system and
what that may imply about their income level and general attitude
behind the wheel. Don't laugh -- sound brings in a thousand
more subtleties that could someday be lifesavers.
.
_H*

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

this is a very interesting poll. almost 50/50 and zero not sure's. i wonder how many people feel the way they do because they do/do not [talk/text while driving? am i gonna have to give up my morning coffee?

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

I agree with much of what you say, especially about the issue of boredom. But I can't help imagining the following conversation:

<After an accident caused by a distracted driver in which a child was killed:>

Distracted Driver speaking to mother of dead child:

"It's just not realistic to expect that I would have had 100% of my attention on the road. I had to find an interesting station on the radio, enter my destination into the NAV, and my sister was telling me about her vacation plans on the phone. And then the light changed and you stopped on the yellow and I couldn't react fast enough to stop the car before hitting you."

As I said above, the problem with talking on the phone and other distractions is that they can slow your reaction time in a crisis that occurs suddenly and unexpectedly.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

+1

... and even more so with the phone.

-Brad

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

Aside from the mutual sharing of opinions, science seems more interesting to me (IMHO! ).
While taking more time to peruse through the same meta-analysis report, I found out that they do address the original question of this thread.

Their final recommendations are:

I spent some time doing searches on Google Scholar but couldn't find something more interesting/conclusive.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

Already happened to airplanes. Though pilots still want to pilot and not simply act as the fail-safe system they have become.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

I say that talking to a passenger is more distracting

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

its not the same. i have experienced this in real life many times. while talking with a passenger, BOTH are paying attention to traffic, driving skills, etc. i notice that my passenger will shut up if there is driving maneuver coming up. i also have driven with people who turn off the radio because it helps them look for addresses.

so yes, most definitely. a BT is way more distracting than talking to a passenger simply because the person on the other end does not know the situation you are in.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

Clearly, some passengers are more distracting than others.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

Imagine Gilbert Gottfried as your passenger.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

I do it only when it is necessary. I prefer talking with a passenger.
Question : do you think making love by bluetooth is more enjoyable than with a human ?