Army Bob: Technology can make car cell phone use safer

by Robert M. Traxler

The summer is waning and those of us who operate motorcycles are sad. Riding a bike, any bike, through beautiful Allegan County is a very enjoyable and relaxing thing to do. I know it sounds counterintuitive to use the words relax and motorcycle in the same sentence, but it is true. I have a friend who was an F-4 Phantom driver, an iconic fighter plane; he maintains he was the most relaxed when he flew thousands of feet above the earth at 2.2 times the speed of sound.

Let’s face the truth: Motorcycles are dangerous mostly to the rider. No seat belts, airbags or crumple zones, no roll-over protection, no protection at all. To a motorcycle person, safety is the number one concern. If a car or truck fails to stop at a stop sign and pulls in front of a bike causing an accident, the operator of the car will get a traffic ticket, the motorcycle rider will get a ticket to the morgue.

Those of us who ride never assume we have the right of way; assumptions will kill you. Experienced riders are super aware of those around them, and more and more I am seeing folks who cross the center and right lines, weaving back and forth. The old cop in me suspects drugs or alcohol, but the growing problem is using hand-held communications devices while driving.

The ability to talk, text or read while driving is here to stay; no law can stop it, enforcement can’t, education can, but it will take a generation. It is time for active restraints, and for the industries to attack the problem. In my youth seat belts were not available in any vehicle; the law mandated their installation and use, but it was technology, education and time that made the seat belt an automatic use. Many vehicles would not start unless the belt was engaged, warning signals (still in use today), motor driven belts that belted folks in automatically, and a massive long-term education plan, increased the use of seat belts and reduced the fatality rate.

Hands free messaging is available; my wife has it in her car, but it needs to be made easier and better. The absolute truth is that we will do what is best for us, what is easy and convenient for us; safety is a concern, but not the major one. If we want to communicate and drive we will; enforcement may deter some of us, but it will not stop us.

It is time for the smart people in the communications and transportation industries to work with the regulators in government and come up with a plan to reduce this problem. Even today there are folks do not use seat belts, but most do. Nothing will be perfect, nothing will be absolute, but if we can get the numbers of hands free communications use in the same range as seat belt use, then it will be a vast improvement.

The reality is that laws banning us from using hand held communications devices are good intentions gone wrong. Before the law, folks would hold the device on the top of the steering wheel and at least have their heads up. Enter the laws and folks drop the device to the bottom of the wheel so law enforcement can’t see them using the device, but they are having to take their eyes completely off the road.

Devices exist that can be used hands free while driving; the problem is that we all have smart phones and why spend more money to purchase a device only used while driving?  Time for Detroit and Silicon Valley to work together to make Moline, Hopkins, Martin, Dorr and Wayland safer. Time for all of us to help ourselves and think long and hard before using hand held communications devices while driving.