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Comment by dchuk | Hacker News Reader

I'm not sure that showing off how your new product can make texting while driving easier is the best idea. The whole hands free debate isn't about literally keeping your hands free of objects, it's the psychological distraction of texting/talking/browsing that causes the safety issues. If it were just about keeping your hands free to stay on the steering wheel, people with one arm wouldn't be allowed to drive.

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Much of the current public outreach really does focus on people taking their eyes off the road and missing things [0]. Usually in pretty graphic ways [1]. The other main focus is navigation in the car, which pretty much everyone does now, so making that safer is a win.

[0] - http://www.ibtimes.com/texting-drivers-take-eyes-road-5-seco...

[1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss021L0hWU4

I wonder to what degree navigation is a fundamentally different case.

A given driver on a given trip is well-shown to be more attentive to traffic and less disruptive if you deny them distractions. (conversation, radio, food, etc)

But it seems plausible that a lost driver is a special case and may be less attentive and more disruptive to traffic if you deny them a navigational aid.

Anecdotally that feels true, though I don't know if it's been studied specifically.

I still feel it's a lot of less dangerous than reading your texts in your phone. You still seeing the road in a way.

There's also the option of not reading texts while driving, which is safest.

If that were absolutely true, eating while driving would be debated as heavily or more.

It only takes a minute or two to eat, while a lot of people will spend the entire trip on the phone, either talking or texting.

Also, I don't know about you, but I don't have to think much about eating, compared to carrying on a conversation or reading.

Not to mention conversing with passengers.

Depends where you are, but it is debated. See for example this case: http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-23944993

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-19597446

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4788910.stm

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-22290619

Etc etc

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