Ruminations on stoplights and smartphones

"Just Jeepin'" (macintux) 10/12/2018 at 09:50 • Filed to: None

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During some random thread on Jalopnik this summer, it was pointed out that not only should smartphones not be used while driving, but they shouldn’t be used while stopped at a light either.

It didn’t take long for me to realize the truth behind that statement, and I’ve been thinking a fair bit about it since.

The short answer to why this is true? Awareness .

But of course, I wouldn’t be much of a blogger if I left it at that. Admittedly, the audience here is much savvier than your average driver, but it’s the audience I have and I suspect some of you are fallible like me, and certainly all of you know someone who could use the advice.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Have you done this? I know I have. I’ve been sitting in line, waiting for a green light, checking something on my phone, when cars start moving around me or people start honking at me and I realize I’ve missed the light change.

I glance up, see the green light, and hit the gas.

Bad. Bad. Wrong. Bad .

I’m surrounded by multiple rolling death machines. Thousands of pounds of metal traveling at significant speeds, and I don’t know if one of them is headed directly into the same space into which I’m accelerating .

(Or, if there’s a slow/confused/careless pedestrian about to step into my field of view.)

Entering an intersection without at least glancing both ways at the cross street is an open invitation for an accident. Entering an intersection in a hurry without looking around at all because you’re surprised and embarrassed by the fact that you’re blocking traffic is absolutely the wrong thing to do, but it’s also a very natural response.

But Just Jeepin’ , I can hear you think, I never do that . Ok, sure, you’re a better person than me (admittedly, that’s not hard).

So here is my incomplete list of other examples why using a smartphone behind the wheel is a bad idea, even at stoplights. No particular order, although I’ve placed the most selfish one first in hopes you can latch onto it as a good reason to not bury yourself in your phone.

Your dream car/truck/4x4/scooter rolls up beside you, and you don’t see it in time to take a photo/chat with the driver/write down the phone number on the “for sale” sign in the window.

A car nearby has a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! /dangling fuel cap/drink on its roof and you can warn the driver.

A car nearby has noticed that your broken tail light/dangling fuel cap/drink on your roof and the driver is trying to get your attention.

A man in a nearby car is literally punching a woman in the passenger seat, and you could call 911. (Yes, this has happened to me.)

An emergency vehicle is trying to get through the stopped cars behind you, and you need to get out of the way.

An emergency vehicle is approaching the intersection on the cross street, and you need to be ready to give it the right of way on green.

Someone next to you is trying to get your attention so they can change lanes as you start rolling.

Someone is trying to pull into stopped traffic from a gas station, and you could easily let them in.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and you could save her.

A car is driving past you, after dark, with no headlights, and you could flash yours at it.

A car a short distance in front of you at the stoplight puts on its hazards because it’s stalled, and you could plot a way around it.

A car a short distance in front of you at the stoplight puts on its hazards because it’s stalled, and you could put on yours and try to help.

Idris Elba is driving the car next to you, and you could tell your children about the time you saw Idris Elba driving a car (other than in a F&F franchise spinoff).

The car behind you has been careless enough to stop on railroad tracks at the intersection and now needs to make a fast escape. Might be nice to notice that before it has to ram you.

The 80-year-old driver next to you has unfolded a map and is clearly utterly baffled, and you could offer advice.

The gas station across the street has fuel that’s 30¢ cheaper than anywhere nearby. Win!

I’ve had other now-forgotten examples occur to me as I’ve ruminated on this, while doing my best not to dig my phone out at stoplights. I don’t always win the battle, but it is nonetheless a battle worth fighting.

And I’d wager Idris Elba would agree.

Spanfeller is a twat > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 09:58

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“the audience here is much savvier than your average driver”

ha! great joke!

Chuckles > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 10:01

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I used to agree with you, but then I moved to Greenville NC. You could read a whole novel at those red lights.

Nibby > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 10:03

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Tekamul > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 10:09

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Eh. I do this a little, but only when I’m surrounded on all sides, because at that point I can’t see anything, so my awareness is already limited to my ears.

My car is 50 inches tall. My eye level is below all the hoods of the invariable sea of SUVs and Trucks that surround me daily. I’m not missing anything until somebody moves. 

Ash78, voting early and often > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 10:09

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I’m going to agree to disagree with this mantra — I could not get through my day without using a smartphone at stoplights. It’s no longer an issue of personal choice, but let’s call it “competitive pressure.” We’re expected in our personal and professional lives to be available all the time, and if we’re not, we’re seen as being lazy (and someone else will be available). So if I go pick my daughter up from school at lunch, I’ve got my phone “at the ready” on the dash. I might log into work email for an update on something I’m waiting for. I’ll notice a new email at a stoplight and make a mental note of it, but I won’t reply until I’m parked somewhere.

HOWEVER...I’m always scanning. Always. The phone never gets my eyes for more than 2-3 seconds (and only while stopped) and my peripheral vision is fully active. It’s less distraction for me than something like trying to find a new radio station, since it’s second nature by now. It’s actually far less distracting for me than trying to have a serious and complex conversation, which may not take my eyes off the road, but takes part of my brain away from the calculations needed to be a proactive driver. Yet the laws seem to be fine with hands-free, no matter where your brain is.

So I’ll go back to saying “know your limits,” but not making hard & fast rules. I always try to pull over and park if something serious needs my full attention.

CB > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 10:13

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Protip: live in a place with no traffic lights. Problem solved. (The nearest traffic light I encounter with any regularity is in Humboldt, about an hour and a half away).

As well, don’t forget the financial impact of getting caught with being your on your phone by the police!

Fyoeu > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 10:16

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#10 pisses me the hell off. I always encounter cars driving at night with just led’s (especially Nissan Rogues or Muranos) and even when i flash my lights at them, they STILL don’t seem to get it. It’s like, how do you manage to drive on a dark road with ONLY DRL’s?

Just Jeepin' > Fyoeu 10/12/2018 at 10:24

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I’ve ranted about that a lot here and on Jalopnik. Automakers bear no small amount of responsibility for this: some dashes are now lit even without headlights on, making it harder for someone to notice that they don’t have their real headlights on , and of course it’s not that hard to design headlights that come on automatically.

Last night I was out and about shortly after sunset and the number of cars driving without headlights was unreal.

Urambo Tauro > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 10:27

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My personal belief is that anything goes, just so long as it’s legal and you are able to keep driving competently.

But d riving HAS to come first. Being able to use a pho ne/device while driving does NOT mean taking your eyes off of the road for several seconds at a time. It means quick glances at the phone, not quick glances at the road. It’s going to take FOREVER to compose that text, and you’re just gonna have to deal with that or put the phone down until you’ve stopped somewhere.

Frankly, i t’s not for me. I tried it, and I’m just not good at it. Best I can do is glance down real quick to verify thumb position, so that I can press one or two buttons before having to find a free moment to glance down again to enter the next two . That one or two button s is enough to take a picture, or place a speed-dial phone call, but anything more than that sucks and I’d rather just drive and deal with my phone later. (BTW, when I say “glance down”, I don’t mean at your lap; I mean hold the phone up to dashboard level so that the glance is no more hazardous than checking your gauges. )  

TL;DR- IF you are able to drive competently and safely (and legally) while using a phone, then I’d say more power to ya. But driving needs to take top priority.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Ash78, voting early and often 10/12/2018 at 10:31

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Yup, this. “ The phone never gets my eyes for more than 2-3 seconds (and only while stopped)“ - and I never do this if I’m the first in line at the intersection.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 10:34

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I still don’t understand why this happens. If you disable automatic headlights, which a lot of people do for reasons I don’t fully understand, the car still know that they should be on. Why not turn on a dash light, or put a message up on the infotainment that said “turn your headlights on, asshole!”. (Or a more kind way of saying that) THIS COULD BE DONE IN SOFTWARE.

rabble rabble rabble

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 10:35

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Yeah and touchscreens in the car and Uber drivers with a phone on a mount don’t count I guess. That’s all Uber drivers do! And awhile back I got a ticket at a long ass light in traffic for pushing my mounted phone once to see what email popped up. And as far as I can tell nobody thinks a flash of the lights means I'm trying to help them, I've had people flip me off, so fuck them! 

lscrx > Ash78, voting early and often 10/12/2018 at 10:39

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“... I’ll notice a new email at a stoplight and make a mental note of it, but I won’t reply until I’m parked somewhere...”

This bothers me, if you’re not going to reply until you get to your destination, then why bother looking at it while driving? People these days have such a Pavlovian response when they get a notification on their phone... IT CAN WAIT!!! Don’t be a slave to your work/phone, I promise you that whatever you think needs to be done at traffic lights can wait until you reach your destination. Two or three seconds may not seem like much to you, but that could be the difference between you or  someone behind you making the light.

wafflesnfalafel > Ash78, voting early and often 10/12/2018 at 10:40

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yep - tough situation. Our sales folks are in the same boat. We put them up against directly conflicting priorities, “if you get caught driving on the phone you will be fired!” vs. “if you get caught not answering your phone you will be fired!”

But that said - 99.4% of the time I see somebody weaving back and forth doing 10 under or sitting at a green stoplight while people sit and honk it’s just some goof checking email or playing candycrush... And for all of those folks, I hope you doom yourself to smacking some curb (and nobody else) and giving something more expensive to worry about...

The Dummy Gummy > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 10:42

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I know you’re referencing my post . I appreciate you took the time to dive deeper and write out this well articulated blog.

I stand by your position and hope you don’t get the flack I received for pointing out the stupidity of it.

The Dummy Gummy > Ash78, voting early and often 10/12/2018 at 10:44

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So if I go pick my daughter up from school at lunch, I’ve got my phone “at the ready” on the dash.

I think you really need to evaluate your priorities if you have your daughter in the car and you’re going to take a distracting work call with her in the car. Just my 2.

Just remember your company does not care about you the same way you care about it. You’re expendable.

The Dummy Gummy > Spanfeller is a twat 10/12/2018 at 10:46

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“the audience here belieces it is much savvier than your average driver”

fixed

Ash78, voting early and often > lscrx 10/12/2018 at 10:48

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If the car in front of me starts moving, I react immediately — I’m not that distracted (hence the peripheral vision comment).

The reason is that if I see an email from my boss that’s marked urgent with a subject line that needs immediate attention, I can call him right away and say “Hey, I’m driving but saw you emailed me, what’s up?” and we can take it from there. I also get on conference calls while driving to run errands just so I’m not tied to a desk and wasting time.

I’m a remote employee in a global organization, so the 24/7 accessibility is pretty much the norm for me (a tradeoff for being able to work from home and have schedule flexibility).

But that’s just during work hours...I would rarely let the phone intrude into my family time, I have hard limits on my hours in most cases.

Ash78, voting early and often > The Dummy Gummy 10/12/2018 at 10:49

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Not once she’s in the car -- just a point of clarification. If I have passengers, all of the above is null and void.

BigBlock440 > Urambo Tauro 10/12/2018 at 10:49

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I used to be able to make phone calls while driving, but a few months ago I got a touch screen phone and it’s downright dangerous having to look just to answer.  So much easier just opening the phone and answering or dialing physical buttons than it is trying to swipe or dig through menus.  

Just Jeepin' > The Dummy Gummy 10/12/2018 at 10:54

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Actually, I don’t think I saw your post. This was something else several months ago.

I agree with your sentiment, however. I’m guilty of it, but I’ve definitely recognized while doing it that it isn’t the smartest thing to do.

Fortunately my preferred “shoot while driving” (or even “stop in the middle of the road to take it”) shots are not ones where I have to worry about other traffic.

The Dummy Gummy > Ash78, voting early and often 10/12/2018 at 10:55

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Fair. Sorry to harp. I get really sensitive when it comes to vulnerable kids. 

Quadradeuce > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 10:57

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Counterpoint! I will use my phone at a stoplight if I just need to make a 5 second adjustment. Chan ge the song, update my navigation, etc. I don’t email or anything that I need to concentrate on. I usually don’t do it at all if I’m first in line, especially since I drive a stick and I hate being slow off the line.

So, I will pull off on a side street to use my phone if I need to do more than just a 5 second adjustment at a stoplight. On several occassions I have been approached by the residents of said street and rudely interrogated as to what I was doing there. My town police radio traffic is posted on Facebook, and I see people calling the police for people sitting in their cars on public streets...all.the.time.

So we don’t want people fucking around on their phones while driving, but we’ll call the PoPo on you if you dare pull over in front of my house.  And as other people have pointed out, some people HAVE to stay in communication or risk their employment.  Win win!

The Dummy Gummy > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 10:57

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Oh, could have been of me harping on someone taking photos while driving earlier in the summer. I’ve been real finicky about this subject due to the danger the picture taker is subjecting to everyone around them. I have no qualms on the second photo.

You’re only going to hurt yourself lol.

Sidenote: your shots have been fantastic.

Just Jeepin' > BigBlock440 10/12/2018 at 10:58

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You really cannot safely make phone calls while driving no matter what technology you use. It’s well-established that your brain simply does not process the world around you effectively when you’re on a call.

Just Jeepin' > The Dummy Gummy 10/12/2018 at 10:59

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Thanks, appreciate that.

Urambo Tauro > BigBlock440 10/12/2018 at 11:13

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T hat little bump on the 5 key was the best!

KnowsAboutCars > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 11:15

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17. You notice that cars in front of you start moving forwards despite the light still being red. You glance at your rear view mirror to notice that a garbage truck is barreling towards you at too high rate of speed to stop in time. You have just enough time to move a bit forward and avoid the wreck.

Just Jeepin' > KnowsAboutCars 10/12/2018 at 11:20

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Personal experience? Hard to imagine cars in front of you are paying enough attention, but I do recall a  story on the fp where someone ran a red light during their driving test to avoid being hit by a truck. The examiner passed them immediately.

Spanfeller is a twat > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 11:21

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Solution:

Make a camera that can read stop lights, when they turn green, make the seat vibrate, the driver could then look at the surroundings and go ahead but also use the phone/check something while stopped 

Just Jeepin' > Spanfeller is a twat 10/12/2018 at 11:24

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Addresses virtually none of the examples I listed, but sure.

KnowsAboutCars > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 12:08

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Not my own but my mom found herself in that situation once. The car in between her and the truck was totalled but her car was only tapped lightly with no visible damage.

Just Jeepin' > KnowsAboutCars 10/12/2018 at 12:09

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Remarkable.

BigBlock440 > Just Jeepin' 10/12/2018 at 12:12

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No, I can, because I pay attention to the road.  Sometimes people get frustrated that they have to repeat themselves because I didn’t register what they just said, but whatever, they’re the ones who continued to talk when they knew I was busy.

lscrx > Ash78, voting early and often 10/12/2018 at 14:19

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I have a similar job (remote employee for a 24/7 global company) and if there’s an emergency... someone would call me. If I’m commuting or taking the kids to school, my email can wait until I get somewhere... not like I can do much about a problem until I’m on my laptop. Official company policy dictates no company  phone use while driving (even talking hands free), but I sometimes take calls (hands free) while driving on the interstate, if traffic is light.  My work phone automatically silences notifications when it senses I’m driving (speed?) which makes it easy to ignore.  Stay safe out there, I got rear ended by a guy on his phone last week, sorry if I’m coming off a little preachy. 

lscrx > Spanfeller is a twat 10/19/2018 at 17:38

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S ubaru will alert you if the vehicle in front of you starts to go, and you don't. 

ibRAD > Ash78, voting early and often 07/18/2019 at 09:08

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“We’re expected in our personal and professional lives to be available all the time, and if we’re not, we’re seen as being lazy (and someone else will be available)“

Only because you accept that expectation. Make it clear that you aren’t available 24/7 and that will be the expectation.

CBeckFJ > Just Jeepin' 07/18/2019 at 09:18

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Those are my preferred shots too. Off road, in my Lexus.