Sony Electronics Blog

• 10/5/2009

Hello Sukhjit! What an awesome job you have here, huh? (Makes me wonder if I should have beat the Treo drum a little harder...) To the subject of your post: Texting while driving is now, just like drinking while driving. We all are aware of the dangers, and should adopt a zero-tolerance policy. Should. Driving Under the Influence, Driving While Intoxicated, and open containers in the motor-vehicle are all violations nationwide. But, what's the real story on drinking and driving? Do we practice zero-tolerance? No. We make judgment calls based on how much we ate, how much we drank, how far from home we are, how dark it is...you get the idea. A dozen or more qualifiers are used every day by millions of drivers that undermine all the laws, and fly in the face of the statistics. Here's where it gets really unsettling: Save for the relatively small percentage of alcoholics that (in their minds) need to drink, driving after drinking is a choice, usually made purely for enjoyment. But, exchanging short text messages for many of us, is actually quite necessary. I'm a fairly busy guy these days, but I have a day job with a regular shift that does not require me to travel. My son is 9 and isn't yet involved in an activity that requires me to hop across town to transport or see him. Think of all the people that do, for very responsible and constructive reasons, send and receive messages while driving. Add to that the main purpose to mobile communication in the first place: to get and give information between destinations. I'm not cross-talking your decision to abstain, but I fear its far too novel for the relevant majority. I don't own a car personally, but my fianceé does. When driving her car I consider myself accessible by phone. Sometimes its as basic as my destination being changed since I left, i.e. meeting able-bodied individuals. I could write a short novel on all the situations where someone in a city like Chicago benefits from info between destinations. The greater the distance traveled, the more premium intra-journey info becomes. I believe the solution lies ahead in partnerships between mobile carriers, manufacturers, and auto makers. A far-flung solution could be the option to obtain a special license after receiving specific training. Managing multiple streams of data at road speeds in a passenger vehicle is well within the computational parameters of the brain. I understand however, this is not an option for 100% of the driving population. On a final note, texting is simply the newest distraction to a driver, added to a list that's been growing, arguably, since the Model T.

• 10/4/2009

I've never been able to talk while driving, and those hands-free thingys always wig me out. I just don't do the two at the same time. But texting and checking email while driving, that, I just don't understand. Can't people wait until they're no longer in traffic? Or pull over somewhere if it's urgent? My opinion, but taking your eyes off the road while you're in motion is a dangerous game. I see too many people here in LA do it, and when I do, I just try to give the person in that car a little more space, just in case.

• 10/4/2009

@Matt Klein, thanks for leaving the note about http://jott.com on the blog here. I think it's a great tool for people to know about if they're using bluetooth. I'm just reading up on their site now. If I do end up using a bluetooth device, I'll want something like this. Hope you are well, and thanks again for noting that here. Glad I've got my Bay Area peeps to keep me in the loop about things like this! Don't forget me! --sukhjit

• 10/4/2009

@vignes @alan c @andr8a Thanks for the props on the phone. It's sweet. I'll tell you more about it as I get use to it. It is definitely sleek. AND YES, Andr8a, I do miss San Francisco. I'm enjoying San Diego very much and I am happy to be working at Sony, but my heart is in SF. Without a doubt, my social media community has kept me company while I've made the transition. I think that has been a huge help. --Sukhjit

• 10/4/2009

@TheStickman You have a good point. Staying focused on the road should be a no brainer. For someone like you, and a few others that have left comments here, that's the way it is. I'd like to think I am a pretty responsible person. My use of the phone while behind the wheel has been minimal, especially since the laws have changed in California. I'm taking this opportunity to cut it completely out .. the recent numbers inspired me to do that. We all have our various vices, and different degrees of them. Glad to hear driving and texting isn't one of yours. --sukhjit

• 10/4/2009

I'm with you on this one. I heard a news story about this very same thing and I immediately stopped messing with my electronics in the car. I, too, have been guilty of texting, sending a short e-mail, trying to look at a map on the phone, etc. but no more. The only thing I still do is talk on the phone because my car has a hands free system built in. When I'm taking on the phone, it is just like talking with a passenger (which technically would still be a distraction). You have my full support in your less distracted journey :)

• 10/4/2009

@keithburtis Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment on my post. You and Otir make a similar point... that texting while driving is more a problem of "younger" drivers. That may be true, I'm not sure what the breakdown is, what I do know is I can be responsible for my part. There has been a lot of press about this recently, and I'm glad to see the media used to raise awareness on an issue like this. Again, this is a personal decision I'm making and I don't expect everyone to drop their phones completely in the car.. I just know it's something I want to do... and I benefit from community support when i put things out to the blog-o-sphere. I also look forward to talking with you more. Again, it's always nice to see a comment from you! Now you know you can find me both on sukhjit.me and also sonyelectronicscommunity.com =) --sukhjit

• 10/4/2009

@otir Hello and thank you for leaving a comment on this blog post. I have to admit that I struggled a little with this post and not because I use my phone in the car all the time. Since the laws changed in California I stopped talking with the phone up to me ear in the car, but I did keep it nearby and sometimes check texts or compose a tweet while at a stop or snap a video or picture while en route to somewhere.. notice the types of things I did become slightly more attention consuming as the list grows. That's why after I heard the numbers last week, it was a given that I had to just make a break from the phone. My commute is 1 hour a day now. And the roads here in San Diego are FAST. Very different than driving in the Northern part of the state or in San Francisco. So, it's not a brave thing I'm doing it's .... well... "it's about time" thing! You, Alan C and theStickman have all commented that you are not distracted by mobile device while driving. I'm glad to say that I will be part of that group too. =) --sukhjit

• 10/4/2009

Yay! Awesome post sukhjit!!!

• 10/4/2009

if you ever decide to embrace handsfree/Bluetooth you can tweet, email, SMS, facebook, blog etc. all with the power of your voice using www.jott.com.