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G0TEZ > CELLPH 08.11.09 23:03l 54 Lines 2616 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 34259-GB7FCR
Read: GUEST DK5RAS
Subj: Re: VE3WBZ > Banned here 2
Path: DB0FHN<DB0NOE<DB0GAP<DB0GPP<DB0KTL<DB0RBS<DB0SWR<DK0WUE<GB7FCR
Sent: 091108/2034Z @:GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU #:34259 [Blackpool] FBB-7.03a $:34259-GB
From: G0TEZ@GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU
To : CELLPH@WW
I have a different take on the dangers of using radios or cellphones while
driving.
People who use PMR just ot contact base e.g. Police and similar service,
don't actually have a chat which takes your mind off your driving. One of
the things I did was taxi driving for 14 years. We kept the mic betwen our
knees usually and a typical exchange with base went "Delta 1, have you
clear with that job to A yet ?", " Yes, clear now.", " can you go to B and
pic up a party going to C, please." " O.K, will do." WE would then drop
the mic until the next exchange. Yes, occasionally, we might have a brief
chat or a joke with base when things were quiet but driving came first.
Contrast this with a conversation I herd once between three radi hams on
70cm. The were chatting about what they were doing and passing the
exchange around.
One man, who was driving had said where he was and I knew from my taxi
driving and other things that he was approaching a sharp, blind corner and
halfway round it was a junction, also blind, in fact it had a mirror to
enable exiting drivers to see part way up the road. The ham was probably
doing 50 mph at that point, most people did. Suddenly, he stopped talking
and came back a minute or so later to say that a car had suddenly come out
of the blind junction causing him to swerve to avoid an accident.
To a listener, like me, it was obvious that he was engrossed in
conversation and probably visualising the people he was talking to, rather
than concentrating on a particularly dangerous stretch of road.
My point is, that it doesn't matter whether you are using a mic, mobile
phone or anything, whether hands free or not.
The danger comes from having a conversation, not just exchanging
information.
Drivers vary enormously from people who eat drink or even read while
driving, to people who treat driving like the skill it is.
Our local busses all have signs warning passengers not to talk to the
driver as it may distract him. A few weeks ago, when I was taking a bus on
a quiet, rural route I got chatting with the driver, who said he didn't
mind chatting, in fact he liked it. I had explained about my taxi driving
and my opinion that anyone who allowed themselves to be distracted by
passengers just wasn't a very good driver. He agreed with me and we
chatted until he got into my town with it's narrower streets and heavier
traffic when I just shut up.
Which is what I will do now. It was just a thought and I've made my point.
73 - Ian, G0TEZ
Msg timed: 20:33 GMT on 2009-Nov-08
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