waremark wrote:Don't you think you generally know when you have been driving well, and when you have missed things, or maybe reacted to them late? I don't make those mistakes any more often when talking on the phone than when chatting to people in the car. I would make fewer driving mistakes if I didn't allow myself to be distracted in any way, but it is very rare for me to focus on the driving task to the exclusion of all else. I would admit to being very bad at avoiding distraction - whether by an interesting car parked at the side of the road, a conversation with my passengers, listening to talk radio, or indeed use of the phone.
Yes, I agree that I am aware of a feeling of having missed things when distracted and I am as equally susceptible to it as anyone else. Conversation, nice car, classy lady, pretty girl, stunning scenery, whatever. I am not immune. What I don't do, though, is deliberately give myself an additional, unneccessary distraction by using a phone. There is virtually no conversation that cannot wait until stopped. Everyone managed just fine before the proliferation of mobile phones. Is life really so different now? ... REALLY?
I am aware that thousands of people (millions?) make hands-free calls every day and do not crash. For most, the situation does not arise that would require them to react. I believe that many of these people are lucky. I further believe that many of these people are compensated for by the people around them. How many times have you had to compensate for another driver only to discover that they are obviously "using the phone", either hand-held, in their lap or "apparently talking to themselves"? I see it far more often than I like.