Text 8324, 62 rader
Skriven 2010-06-08 00:53:33 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
     Kommentar till en text av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Reachability (was: Bargeld lacht)
=========================================
Hello Robert,

On Monday June 07 2010 07:01, you wrote to me:

 RB> I don't shop for hours on end, and if someone wants to reach me, they
 RB> can bloody well wait the 15 minutes or half an hour it might take. If
 RB> I'm expecting something, I might relent and ask the expected caller to
 RB> contact my cellphone, but that hasn't happened up to now.

It is not that I have a problem with others waiting, but I may miss an
opportunity if I can not  be reached.

 RB>>>  Don't want incoming calls when I'm driving.

 MV>> I have a car kit. I do not mind calling while driving...

 RB> Different mindset, apparently. I object very much to incoming calls
 RB> while driving, if for no other reason than the ring tones startle you
 RB> and may cause unwanted reactions at the wheel.

If you are that jumpy, how about the siren of the fire truck or an ambulance?

 RB> However, in contrast to the powers-that-be, I don't necessarily agree
 RB> that phoning while driving is dangerous, even without a car kit.

Research has demonstrated that it DOES distract and that reaction times go down
when on the phone.

 RB> The argument that it distracts you is not valid, since you are also
 RB> distracted by a radio or someone in the passenger seat talking to you.
 RB> The argument that one of your hands is taken up is also invalid, since
 RB> many people - including me - often drive with one hand anyway,

True, but when driving with one hand the free hand is still available in an
emergency. If it holds a phone, this availability is reduced.

 RB> particulerly on long streches without traffic.

In The Netherlands long stretches without traffic are a thing of the past. :-(

 RB> That argument would only really apply in the city, where you have to
 RB> shift gears often and can't do that easily while holding a phone.

Unless you drive an automatic...

 RB> The people the powers-that-be really want to eliminate are those who
 RB> get so absorbed in a conversation that they pay no attention to the
 RB> road, but you aren't going to eliminate them by prohibiting cell
 RB> phoning - you'd also have to prohibit most women drivers and prohibit
 RB> two women from travelling together in a car, since that situation
 RB> generally leads to machine-gun talking with hardly a second to draw a
 RB> breath.

The difference is that a passenger is aware of traffic conditions and can be
trained to shut up when he/she sees that the driver needs to direct more
attention to the driving. Someone at the other end of the phone is unaware of
that.

Cheers, Michiel

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