On Sun, 16 Aug 2015 21:52:57 -0500, "Dean Hoffman"
wrote:

On Sun, 16 Aug 2015 01:10:23 -0500, ceg wrote:

The cellphone paradox - where are all the accidents?

The Fermi Paradox is essentially a situation where we "assume" something
that "seems obvious"; but, if that assumption is true, then something
else
"should" be happening. But it's not.

Hence, the paradox.

Same thing with the cellphone (distracted-driving) paradox.

Where are all the accidents?

They don't seem to exist.
At least not in the United States.
Not by the federal government's own accident figures.

1. Current Census, Transportation: Motor Vehicle Accidents and Fatalities
http://www.census.gov/compendia/stat...atalities.html

2. Motor Vehicle Accidents—Number and Deaths: 1990 to 2009
http://www.census.gov/compendia/stat...es/12s1103.pdf

3. Motor Vehicle Crash Deaths in Metropolitan Areas — United States, 2009
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6128a2.htm

If you have more complete government tables for "accidents" (not deaths,
but "ACCIDENTS"), please post them since the accidents don't seem to
exist
but, if cellphone distracted driving is hazardous (which I would think it
is), then they must be there, somewhere, hidden in the data.

Such is the cellphone paradox.


Mythbusters on the Science Channel just aired a test of hands free
vs. hands on cell phone
use while driving. All but one test subject failed their simulator test
either by crashing or getting lost.
Thirty people took the test. The show aired 9:30 CDT on August 16.

This one ??
http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/my...ving-minimyth/


It's like all the other ridiculously done "tests" of cell phone
distraction. They literally FORCE someone to remain talking on the
phone while at the same time telling them to do this or that. Normal
people don't try and parallel park while on a phone being asked to
listen to a nonsense sentence and immediately repeat it back to them
while also trying to parallel park with their free hand.

I found one supposedly real world study that found new drivers were
distracted by cell phones, not really a surprise as they are
distracted by everything as the study confirmed.

The study found that experienced drivers were not affected by talking
on the phone but said they were affected by dialing them but didn't
say how much. The fact that talking on the phone didn't cause them
problems was not what they expected of course and the article goes to
some pains to point out that it is at odds with "other studies". Yeah,
because the other studies are the dumb ones like Myth busters did.

The bottom line is driving is a skill and like any skill you get
better with experience. And with experience you can use a cell phone
with no more hazard then any number of other things people do in their
cars. But the powers that be are determined to demonize cell phone
use and I think the main reason is because you can SEE other people
using cell phones and that just ****es them off.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/distract...lking-less-so/