No ANYTHING in my Car!

Picture this – You and your family hop into your mini-van for a ride to the local amusement park.  A couple of minutes into driving there one of your kids asks what rides you want to go on.  You immediately slam on the breaks and call over a police officer to have your child arrested for distracting the driver.  “NO TALKING IN MY CAR!” is your loud explanation.

A little far-fetched perhaps, but perfectly in line with the recommendations issued this week by the National Transportation Safety Board who called for an outright ban on mobile phone use by drivers.  It is their opinion that “distracted driving”  - even when using hands-free devices – puts drivers at grave risk.

Now while I’m usually ok with strong government regulations protecting the general public, this one requires that we peel the onion a bit more.  It just doesn’t pass the logic test.

Are we saying that people are unable to drive and talk at the same time for fear of distraction?  Really?  People have been talking in cars since cars were invented.  And not just talking  - singing to music, eating lunch from the drive-through, breaking up arguments between our kids.  Are we now suggesting banning car radios and cup holders?   Should we reverse the decades old push to carpool for our environment and instead insist that drivers be alone in their vehicles?

What science was this recommendation based upon?  How can one possibly conclude that people are unable to communicate on headsets and read instruments while still concentrating on operating a vehicle?  How would airplanes fly if the pilot were not in constant contact with the air traffic controllers and continuously monitoring their gauges?

What the NTSB is really saying here is that it doesn’t trust people to use good judgment with communication devices - that while conversation (in person or via a headset) is OK, they really just don’t trust people to resist the temptation to post about their ride on Facebook or text their Aunt Matilda that they just saw someone who looks like George Clooney.  This is completely different from saying that people can’t successfully drive and communicate.  This is saying that people are idiots who don't use their brains.  Now if the NTSB could find a way to ban idiots from driving in cars I for one would be eternally grateful.  But until they find a way to do that it’s just ridiculous to penalize everyone else because idiots find ways to distract themselves with mobile devices.  Without any mobile devices there would still be idiots driving and distracting themselves with things like make-up, newspapers, other passengers, etc.

In my opinion the NTSB should refrain from making illogical recommendations that would severely impact intelligent adults in the hopes of preventing idiots from being idiots.  Nothing can stop that – just look at the last few elections.

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This article was written by David Danto and contains solely his own, personal opinions. David has over 30 years of experience providing problem solving leadership and innovation in media and unified communications technologies for various firms in the corporate, broadcasting and academic worlds including  AT&T, Bloomberg LP, FNN, Morgan Stanley, NYU, Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan Chase. He recently joined Dimension Data as their Principal Consultant for the collaboration, multimedia, video and AV disciplines.  He is also the  IMCCA’s Director of Emerging Technology. David can be reached at David.Danto@Dimensiondata.com