Hands-Free Devices No Safer When Driving, and Other Links
Is using a hands-free device safer while driving than talking on a regular cell phone? No.
Happiness is partly controlled by your genes. All told, genes explain about one-third of the variation in happiness.
Fluffy and Bowzer might be a fall hazard. Each year pets cause nearly 87,000 fall injuries.
Would having more than one wife cause husbands to drink more? No. Consumption of alcohol is less common in polygamous societies. Hat tip to Marginal Revolution.
In my state they have banned using car phones while in the car. I couldn’t help but notice that they didn’t ban the use of police radios while driving. Seems like a double standard to me.
Many people assume a hands-free device is safer than a cell phone. I would even assume that given that holding your hand to your head might obscure peripheral vision in one eye and take one hand off the wheel. But it’s the talking rather than the device you use.
Hands-free phone conversations are still taking your focus and even peripheral vision away. It’s not holding the stupid phone, it’s trying to do two things at once and causing havoc as a result. Some people can’t walk and chew gum at the same time….you want to be driving ahead of them in traffic?
I don’t mind if people talk on their phones while driving, if they stay in the slow lane.
In fact, I propose we designate the right lane for people who are driving while doing anything else (applying makeup, talking on the phone, eating) — and the left lane should be for people whose primary focus is to drive somewhere.
Having both wives in the car with fluffy and bowser is distracting also. At least my genes are happy.
I don’t know how “drivers compensate for the deleterious effects of cell phone use when using a handheld phone” when they have a portion of their field of vision obscured by their hand and the device.
It would be difficult to enforce an anti-hands-free-phone use law, since there would be nothing visible to note, other than their lips moving.
Gee, wonder if the factoid about wives and drinking has anything to do with the fact that Islam a) allows polygamy and b) forbids alcohol?
No Linda, that couldn’t be it at all.
Maybe the polygamous guys are too busy dealing with their wives to drink.
About the dogs: It’s amazing what sort of harm we will do to ourselves to avoid stepping on them. I’ve known several people that have broken arms and legs falling over pets.