Gotcha! Driving while texting or talking on phone

[French Castanut]

It's getting hot in here

[Roadster]

I thought this thread was about posting pics of idiots,,, wheres all the pics?

[dodgerdodge]

Yeah no pics just idiots thinking they can balance phones on their thigh and press buttons whilst driving and then having the nerve to compare it to changing gear in a manual car, oh pleeeeeeeze STOP with the daft comments. Zensiert!!

[36Drew]

I thought this thread was about posting pics of idiots,,, wheres all the pics?

Unfortunately for the camera, I'm now riding a lot more than driving. The few times that I've tried stationary shots, I've had troubles with reflective glare. I'll have to go driving around with the wife-unit again - but as long as the sun stays shining, that might be a bit of a chore.... she likes to ride as well.

I'm working on getting my hands on a helmet cam. Prolly have to wait another month for that - I save up for my toys rather than just put it on plastic and pay later.

[zensiert]

Actually, most phones have the capability to auto answer. I know you think you've found some sort of loophole, whereby you think you can have your phone on your lap and use speakerphone. Fact is, it's illegal as the use of handheld devices are illegal. If you touch your phone with your hand to answer, it's illegal. How do you hang up your call if you drop the phone on the floor? This is how I know you pick it up. I also know that you have to glance at it to see the caller ID, and take your eyes off the road. I also know you have to glance at it to make sure that you swipe the right place, and that you hit the speakerphone button. I know that if you miss the speaker phone button, then you look at the phone to find it. I know this, because I have the same phone. I did all of these things before the use of handheld devices was illegal. Now I use a bluetooth earpiece when I'm working, which reads the caller ID to me before it auto answers. If I don't want to accept the call, then, with one finger, and one hand off the wheel, with my eyes still on the road, I can press and hold the button to reject it. In my own personal vehicle, the calls are made through the stereo via steering wheel controls, or voice commands. I can comprehend your post very well. It's got nothing to do with hands on the wheel, it's got to do with eyes and focus on the road. Enjoy your ticket for having your phone on your lap!

First of all, learn how to quote without breaking the reply. BBCode isn't rocket science.

Second of all, do you have a deficit of problem-solving skills? If my phone drops, I just ask the other person to hang up. Easy peasy, PROBLEM SOLVED.

And since I only ever *answer* calls when I am driving, the phone is either answered to a live person (who can do the hanging up for me), or it goes to voicemail. And if not... I have unlimited incoming minutes. If a machine decides to phone me, and my phone falls, well, that's money out of THEIR pocket, NOT mine. I am perfectly happy to let that machine drone on until I come to a stop where I can safely retrieve my phone.

So, explain to me again how you are soooooo sssuuuuuurrrrreeeeee that I ****HAVE**** to pick up the phone if it is dropped... Because you seem to be utterly convinced that I am doing something that, to this date, I have never done. Not even ONCE.

Oh, and all that blather about taking eyes off the road? That's why I took time to learn my phone. I do everything by touch, because I CAN. As long as you know where to touch, and how long to pause to allow the app to respond, you can navigate through an entire iPhone (the phone functions) completely blind. In fact, there are some blind people who actually use smartphones -- without anything more than a screen reader. They use them like I do - by knowing where everything is, and how long to pause between each action.

And caller ID spoken out through a handsfree device? I call bull***t. You need a screen for caller ID, because any call would go to voicemail long before an automated (and understandable!) voice finished calling out all ten digits... unless that voice was copied from an auctioneer (but then no-one would understand it anymore)... so why should I look at my phone to see who is calling? I don't.

Besides, I welcome the opportunity to have a cop observe me when a call comes in. Because in the end, if my eyes do not leave the road or the traffic around me, IT IS LEGAL. It IS a hands-free device, because the only time I touch it with my hand is when I pick up or end a call... just like any other sort of handsfree device. The fact that the conversation isn't channelled through a third-party piece of hardware is immaterial.

[Always Sunny]

Besides, I welcome the opportunity to have a cop observe me when a call comes in. Because in the end, if my eyes do not leave the road or the traffic around me, IT IS LEGAL. It IS a hands-free device, because the only time I touch it with my hand is when I pick up or end a call... just like any other sort of handsfree device. The fact that the conversation isn't channelled through a third-party piece of hardware is immaterial.

Calling your phone "hands-free" except when you touch it to "pick up or end a call" is like saying "I'm a vegatarian except for those times when I eat meat". Either your phone is hands free, or it's not.

Hint: Yours is not. And you spelled "illegal" wrong.

[mexi cali]

Zenseirt, sorry but you are absolutely wrong. Your phones speaker function does not make it hands free. My daughter thought this too and had it explained to her by a very nice Police Officer that her speaker I-phone does not qualify. You must have an approved headset or visor unit or have use of the newer built in technologies such as the Ford sync system.

There is no gray here. and Matt J. is correct when he says that it has really nothing to do with removing ones hands from the wheel as supported by your manual transmission reference, rather it has everything to do with averting your eyes to the phone.

And try explaining to a Police Officer that you self trained yourself to be able to seek out the correct spots on your phone which allows you to answer it on the fly. My bet is that he will reward your ingenuity with a fine.

Not that I'm taking sides.

And yeah, where are all the great photos like the one at the beginning?

[mexi cali]

And caller ID spoken out through a handsfree device? I call bull***t. You need a screen for caller ID, because any call would go to voicemail long before an automated (and understandable!) voice finished calling out all ten digits... unless that voice was copied from an auctioneer (but then no-one would understand it anymore)... so why should I look at my phone to see who is calling? I don't.

Missed this the first time through. Again, you are incorrect. There are many companies manufacturing very intelligent Handsfree devices with voice prompts and announcements such as the number the incoming call is coming from. It's actually old technology. I bought one for my wife And better yet, if it is an incoming call from someone in your personal directory, it will tell you the name of the caller.

Oh and you'll love this. there are apps available which will read you your e-mails and texts out loud so if it is very important, you can pull over and respond. Or there are voice to text versions if you just can't be bothered to pull over.

As for voice quality, I have a headset made by a company called Jawbone whose synthesized voice is more intelligible than most human beings.

[MattJ]

First of all, learn how to quote without breaking the reply. BBCode isn't rocket science.

Second of all, do you have a deficit of problem-solving skills? If my phone drops, I just ask the other person to hang up. Easy peasy, PROBLEM SOLVED.

And since I only ever *answer* calls when I am driving, the phone is either answered to a live person (who can do the hanging up for me), or it goes to voicemail. And if not... I have unlimited incoming minutes. If a machine decides to phone me, and my phone falls, well, that's money out of THEIR pocket, NOT mine. I am perfectly happy to let that machine drone on until I come to a stop where I can safely retrieve my phone.

So, explain to me again how you are soooooo sssuuuuuurrrrreeeeee that I ****HAVE**** to pick up the phone if it is dropped... Because you seem to be utterly convinced that I am doing something that, to this date, I have never done. Not even ONCE.

Oh, and all that blather about taking eyes off the road? That's why I took time to learn my phone. I do everything by touch, because I CAN. As long as you know where to touch, and how long to pause to allow the app to respond, you can navigate through an entire iPhone (the phone functions) completely blind. In fact, there are some blind people who actually use smartphones -- without anything more than a screen reader. They use them like I do - by knowing where everything is, and how long to pause between each action.

And caller ID spoken out through a handsfree device? I call bull***t. You need a screen for caller ID, because any call would go to voicemail long before an automated (and understandable!) voice finished calling out all ten digits... unless that voice was copied from an auctioneer (but then no-one would understand it anymore)... so why should I look at my phone to see who is calling? I don't.

Besides, I welcome the opportunity to have a cop observe me when a call comes in. Because in the end, if my eyes do not leave the road or the traffic around me, IT IS LEGAL. It IS a hands-free device, because the only time I touch it with my hand is when I pick up or end a call... just like any other sort of handsfree device. The fact that the conversation isn't channelled through a third-party piece of hardware is immaterial.

There is no need to insult my intelligence. (BTW if you want to play that game, try spellcheck). It said that I wasn't allowed to embed more than one quote, so I deleted stuff. Secondly, before you call bullsh*t and look ignorant, try looking at the Jawbone headset, it reads caller ID to you. Look up the Vlingo app. Not only does it respond to voice commands, it will also read your emails and texts to you, and allow you to reply to them with voice only. It will also launch other apps, and do a lot of other things, and it's free. However, as I have said, your "lap based hands-free speaker phone" is illegal. You can argue your ingenuity until you're blue in the face. I don't care. It's your ticket, not mine. I just hope it's not me on the side of the highway you nail when you're playing with it.

[zensiert]

removed - Jennylives

[mexi cali]

Come on Zen, you can do better than that. The gauntlet has been thrown down.

[zensiert]

It said that I wasn't allowed to embed more than one quote, so I deleted stuff.

Then why the orphaned [/quote]?? You broke the BBCode, when a single cut-and-paste (or a select-drag-drop) would have prevented it from breaking.

Secondly, before you call bullsh*t and look ignorant, try looking at the Jawbone headset, it reads caller ID to you.

Yes, this appears to be a brand-new option for a very few select 2012 models... my bad for not keeping on top of recent releases... my mid-2010 era Jawbone (top of the line, one of the more expensive units at the time) has nothing of the sort. And at the time, no-one had a handsfree device which called out the phone number. I ought to know: I spent six months looking for the perfect headset that could self-hold itself in my (quite sensitive) ear channels (like how hearing aids do so), and settled for the Jawbone with a custom silicone ear piece. It still ended up being too much of an irritant to wear on anything other than long trips.

Look up the Vlingo app. Not only does it respond to voice commands, it will also read your emails and texts to you, and allow you to reply to them with voice only. It will also launch other apps, and do a lot of other things, and it's free.

I never doubted the existence of these kinds of apps. They *do* exist. But this still doesn't solve your claim... it only means I only have to wake up the app to do these things... and I don't do those things while driving anyhow. I only answer calls, which is two fingerstrokes away; not multiple fingerstrokes to unlock the phone, flip through screens to find the app, press to launch the app and then do what I want to do. Frankly, I find two memorized fingerswipes a hellovalot safer than more of them.

However, as I have said, your "lap based hands-free speaker phone" is illegal. You can argue your ingenuity until you're blue in the face. I don't care. It's your ticket, not mine. I just hope it's not me on the side of the highway you nail when you're playing with it.

Actually, I've actually taken another look at the legislation. There are two requirements to using a phone directly (as in, speakerphone and no headset): that it must be attached/mounted to the vehicle, and that a single fingerpress be used to activate and/or terminate the call.

I have one of those "media mounts" that fit into the cigarette lighter. I push the phone into it before I start driving, and the arms react to clamp down on the phone (kind of like a ratcheting clamp controlled by the insertion of the phone). I go into Settings->General->Accessibility and set the phone to always answer calls with the speakerphone.

Tah-daaaah! I have now satisfied ALL the requirements of the law. The phone is fixed to the vehicle, and calls are answered by a single finger swipe. Since I use the speakerphone in almost all situations anyhow (unless it's a private call in public... and my car is a private enough venue for any private call) I can just leave the setting like that.

[mexi cali]

Except that earlier you said that you keep it in your lap, didn't you? And if you could provide a link to your new found support legislation, I would be most appreciative.

Again though, if you got pulled over, you would be fined as per the law the way I have had it explained to me by police officers. and as far as you using the I have sensitive ear holes, that is no different than an over weight person saying I wasn't wearing my seat belt because it's uncomfortable.

[zensiert]

Except that earlier you said that you keep it in your lap, didn't you? And if you could provide a link to your new found support legislation, I would be most appreciative.

Didn't I link??

Actually, I've actually taken another look at the legislation.

Hmmm... looks like I did...

And had I linked *after* you posted, my own post would have an automated edit notice at the bottom.

[Roadster]

Will you two stop it,,, send a pic of yerselves on the cell phone while driving and prove yer right or wrong.