[Magdalen] Bishop Cook

[Jim Guthrie]

From: Raewynne Whiteley

>Just pointing out, if you ban using a phone hands free, then you should
>also ban the driver talking to anyone in the car.  My experience is that
>it's far more distracting talking to someone next to you than someone on a
>phone...

The legislatures passing the anti-phone-while-driving laws obviously disagree. 
But one might point out that people got along quite well for a long time without 
needing to be yakking on a phone (or texting) while driving in the first place. 
And another pair of eyes in the passenger seat may enhance safety in many cases.

There are those who question the new touch screen controls found in automobiles 
these days -- though there are still laws requiring certain knobs and controls, 
such as a knob to control the emergency flashers.

One problem (among many) with the touch screen controls is that they tend to be 
way too busy showing status -- or alternately require quite a bit of searching 
for some items (switching from fuel gauge to air conditioning to radio to other 
stuff.

Years ago, behaviorists found that seven items on a computer menu was the limit 
for efficient comprehension.  A dozen or more status indicators and controls may 
well be a dangerous distraction as well.

Cheers,
Jim

Cheers,
Jim