# Cell Phone while riding?



## northcoast (Jul 11, 2003)

Lately I've been noticing more and more cyclists talking on the phone while riding. Is it just me or do we commuters have a sort of collective hate for cell phones while riding/driving since so many of our close calls are caused by cell phone yapping motorists? Yesterday I saw a dude on a beautiful track bike riding with no hands down Fairfax talking on his cell. Don't get me wrong, I have a cell phone and enough skill to talk while riding, but I just don't. Wadaya all think?
Included a pic for the heck of it.


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## asterisk (Oct 21, 2003)

word, I think that's akin to riding with earphones in and music blasting... it would just take one unattentive driver and splat. Anything that takes away from your avaliable reaction time is never a good call.


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## gpsser (Oct 25, 2003)

guilty??? I have done it. I usually ride with a hands free setup though, having hands on a phone or anything else is just to dangerous....specially in heavy traffic.


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

Yup...yup. I think cell phone talking is distracting for the operator of both a car and a bike. 

My friend was hit head on by a logo spandex cladded road rider on the bike path in Santa Monica. He got up off the ground, and just got back and his bike and rolled away. No apologies. No "are you ok?".

I do carry my cell phone with me on rides, but I pull over and get off the bike to talk when I do feel the need to take a call.


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## diatribe (Jun 7, 2004)

northcoast said:


> Wadaya all think? Included a pic for the heck of it.


I always go with: "Safety First for me"

I find a safe place to pull over and take the call if I think it may be an emergency.

diatribe

Great shot of the bike!


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## TrevorInSoCal (Mar 31, 2003)

*I've done it...*

I occasionally talk on my cell while riding, but not often. Usually only when I'm cruising downtown at a leisurely pace on a side-street with little traffic. Never on my commute.

Of course I'm also one of those hooligans who wears earphones on my commute ride...

I suppose if I didn't wear earphones I could wear the bluetooth headset, and answer any calls that came in, but my commute is *my* time (Funny how when you *ride* to and from work the commute is something to look forward to.), and whoever it is can wait until I get home.

Totally off the subject, but is that frickin' buzzing fly shockwave banner-ad pissing everyone else off too? Geezus. Talk about annoying.

-Trevor


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## Hollywood (Jan 16, 2003)

*even harder*

whats harder is trying to answer the phone and hear the person over my iPod headphones.

"HELLO?! Hang on a sec, I'm in a left turn lane..."

thats when you know its time to leave the gadgets behind. 




asterisk said:


> word, I think that's akin to riding with earphones in and music blasting... it would just take one unattentive driver and splat. Anything that takes away from your avaliable reaction time is never a good call.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

*You have to admit ...*

It's funny to see a thread about riders being distracted while on cell phones, and the first post has a stunning picture of a bike ... taken while riding!


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## pedalmedic (Mar 16, 2004)

VOICEMAIL  If they need me that bad, they can leave a message. I pull off if needed. The one time i tried to ride and talk on the phone, they could not hear with all the wind noise.


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## northcoast (Jul 11, 2003)

DrRoebuck said:


> It's funny to see a thread about riders being distracted while on cell phones, and the first post has a stunning picture of a bike ... taken while riding!


Yep, good one Roebuck. Guilty as charged.


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## pinerider (Aug 12, 2004)

On my commute, the cell phone goes in my rack bag so I have to pull over and stop to answer it. I was on a road ride last summer, was on standby for work. Phone rings, I pull it out of my back pocket and answer in case there's a problem at work. It's my son asking me what to cook for supper! I keep riding (slowly I thought) through a short conversation. End the call on a downhill stretch, the light ahead is red. I try to apply the rear brakes, but the phone is in between the brake lever and handlebar!!! A short panic attack, the light turned in my favour, major crisis averted!! 
Lesson learned: Don't even touch cell phone while riding!


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## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

*I use my radio....*

Hey T,

I use my radio. I have a nextel, so does my girlfriend and several of our friends. So, we'll use them while we are riding to rendezvous at a certain place. The beauty of the radio is that you don't need to hold the phone to your ear to talk with someone. I have ridden and talked on my cell phone before and I feel like a major @ss when I do. I think it looks rediculous... I might as well ride down Pratt St. plucking my unibrow with tweezers and a mirror....

... I have no unibrow.
RB


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## mb168 (Jan 3, 2005)

Hollywood said:


> whats harder is trying to answer the phone and hear the person over my iPod headphones.
> 
> "HELLO?! Hang on a sec, I'm in a left turn lane..."
> 
> thats when you know its time to leave the gadgets behind.


What sucks is having the phone earpiece in one ear, your iPod earpiece in the other, and then one of them has to be dangling down smacking everything. Then it takes you a while to adjust the volumes on both so that you don't miss out on the good jams while you're talking on the phone, AND remembering not to YELL while you're talking over the iPod


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## mtbnutty (Feb 13, 2003)

*Nextel*

We use it at work. When I'm riding in or riding home and someone needs to talk to me, I hear it beeping in my lumbar pack. I just pull over and talk.


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## mtbnutty (Feb 13, 2003)

*Sheeesh....*




TrevorInSoCal said:


> Totally off the subject, but is that frickin' buzzing fly shockwave banner-ad pissing everyone else off too? Geezus. Talk about annoying.
> 
> -Trevor


Ditto to what Trevor said!!


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## Knale (Jan 22, 2005)

I always have my cell phone with me for the obvious reasons, but one of my biggest reasons for riding is getting away from all that stuff. I am not much of a phone person anyway. It is hard enough commuting with motorists not paying attention. Doesn't make sense for someone to be riding a bike and talking on the phone. Pull over, be safe.

Knale


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## onrhodes (Feb 19, 2004)

*Easy problem to solve, don't own a cell phone*

I go with the K.I.S.S. philosophy. I don't own, not do I ever intend on owning a cell phone. If people need to get in touch with me then leave a message for me at home.
I don't belive that I need to be in constant contact with people and always have a phone on me.
The whole argument of using them for emergencies, etc seems weak to me. We got along without cell phones for decades. If you ask me that is why there are pay phones and 1-800-collect.
Just my 2 cents, and I understand that I am in the minority here. I just don't see the usefullness of a cell phone (other then another $40 a month bill to pay).


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

*In the minority, perhaps, but not alone...*

...I don't own one either, and hope I never do. I don't understand this "need" some people have to been constantly accessible and constantly in touch. I value my family and friends highly, but that doesn't mean I want to talk to them at all hours. If they want to talk to me during my rides, they'd better be on their own bikes somewhere within earshot.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

I don't necessarily like being so in touch either, but having a phone lets me take three-hour rides in the middle of the day without my clients freaking out.

I don't talk and ride, though.


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

DrRoebuck said:


> I don't necessarily like being so in touch either, but having a phone lets me take three-hour rides in the middle of the day without my clients freaking out...


 Excellent point!
Yeah the cell phone is a great tool when running your own freelance type business. I can ride in the middle of the day and clients can still call me for updates. I just pull over and talk, then hop back on the bike and continue my "work day"


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## jrm (Dec 23, 2001)

*It can ring..and ring*



northcoast said:


> Lately I've been noticing more and more cyclists talking on the phone while riding. Is it just me or do we commuters have a sort of collective hate for cell phones while riding/driving since so many of our close calls are caused by cell phone yapping motorists? Yesterday I saw a dude on a beautiful track bike riding with no hands down Fairfax talking on his cell. Don't get me wrong, I have a cell phone and enough skill to talk while riding, but I just don't. Wadaya all think?
> Included a pic for the heck of it.


But unless im stopped i wont answer the phone while im riding. Theres just to much going around me when im riding in the city..


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

meat tooth paste said:


> I just pull over and talk, then hop back on the bike and continue my "work day"


Yup. I love sitting at the bridge in the Marina, telling a panicked client how busy I am and that they'll have to wait until tomorrow. Meanwhile, there are jets roaring overhead, bike bells going off and Latino fishermen yelling at each other. My clients must thing I'm the most incompetent computer consultant, considering as far as they know all my other clients are constantly having "virus attacks" or "server crashes."

Yeah. I'm reeeeeaaaal busy.


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## mb168 (Jan 3, 2005)

onrhodes said:


> I go with the K.I.S.S. philosophy. I don't own, not do I ever intend on owning a cell phone. If people need to get in touch with me then leave a message for me at home.
> I don't belive that I need to be in constant contact with people and always have a phone on me.
> The whole argument of using them for emergencies, etc seems weak to me. We got along without cell phones for decades. If you ask me that is why there are pay phones and 1-800-collect.
> Just my 2 cents, and I understand that I am in the minority here. I just don't see the usefullness of a cell phone (other then another $40 a month bill to pay).


We didn't have bicycles, computers, or indoor plumbing for thousands of years and survived just fine too. I suppose if you ride in the city with pay phones readily available and traffic passing by everywhere you have a minor point. I ride down roads where the nearest payphone is 15 miles away, you may not pass a house for miles, or have a car pass you in 20-30 minutes. I'd hate to be lying there on the side of the road in the middle of no where, nowhere to crawl to, and no one to stop and help for who knows how long and thats if you could flag them down lying in the ditch. Heck yeah its a safety issue. I'd pay $40 a month for the rest of my life not to die in a ditch today.


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## Scot_Gore (Jan 25, 2002)

I turn mine off while riding. The few times I've had it on it's been too tempting to answer it when it rings. Like you say, it dosn't take much skill to reach back and answer the phone, so when it rings I find myself reaching for it. I've gotten in the habit of turning it off and checking for missed calls at rest points.

Scot


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## Markus Mudd (Dec 18, 2004)

northcoast said:


> Lately I've been noticing more and more cyclists talking on the phone while riding. Is it just me or do we commuters have a sort of collective hate for cell phones while riding/driving since so many of our close calls are caused by cell phone yapping motorists? Yesterday I saw a dude on a beautiful track bike riding with no hands down Fairfax talking on his cell. Don't get me wrong, I have a cell phone and enough skill to talk while riding, but I just don't. Wadaya all think?
> Included a pic for the heck of it.




I was on an organized ride in Cincinnati last summer (The Morning Glory) and saw a dude flyin' by whilst talking on a cell phone. He paid no attention to the stop sign in front of him and the fact that the other traffic had no stop sign as he blasted on through without slowing down. Cars squeeled and scattered to avoid running over our distracted friend. It scares me that drivers could possibly be anywhere near as oblivious as this guy was!! 

Mark


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## Cerddwyr (Jul 26, 2004)

On long rides my cell phone is in a zip lock in my jersey. OFF! It is there to call for help, ideally for other people, as I don't know that I need help if I can work the phone. When I am riding for work, I carry the phone turned on, and will pull over to answer only if I am expecting/dreading a call. Mostly I just check messages when I stop for coffee or get to a client. I will NEVER talk on the phone while riding. And I will have no sympathy for someone who dies while doing so. Stupidity like that deserves a dose of Darwinism.

Gordon


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

*Harsh!*

The teeth in some of these replies!

Yeah, okay, so I'm with you on blowing through stopsigns at thirty on a cellphone...

but as a downtown dweller and cyclist, I'm ... just scarecely on my FEET. I ended up walking two miles last week and thought 'gee, this takes... a long time.' (I used to walk EVERYWHERE, but now it's always hop on the bike..)

Anyhow, I my phone isn't ON when I'm TRAINING or anything, and I won't answer in TRAFFIC, for gods' sakes, but when I'm just putting around town taking care of shite, and my phone rings, I just scoot over to the sidewalk, ride at a pace with the rest of the pedestrians, and answer. So there.

Now, this is on a fixed gear, so I can do the whole braking / speed modulation thing with my legs, and I'll usually put a foot down before I do a one-handed trackstand, but maybe that has something to do with it. But I am on my bike, and a mobile phone.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

*Then again, times do change, don't they?*

I can imagine it being 1983 and someone posting a question on cardriverforums.com entitled "Cell Phone while Driving?" and then all these people talking about how insane it would be to yak while behind the wheel.


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## TrevorInSoCal (Mar 31, 2003)

*Actually...*



onrhodes said:


> I go with the K.I.S.S. philosophy. I don't own, not do I ever intend on owning a cell phone.


my personal interpretation of the K.I.S.S philosophy leads me to own a cell phone and not a land-line.

I get cable internet, and I have a cheap cell plan on which I never go over the allotted minutes, and L/D is included in the plan. It ends up being cheaper to have a cell phone and cable internet than it would be to have a land-line + l/d + internet. As long as I'm going to have only one line I might as well make it portable for the sake of convenience...

If the cable company wasn't ripping me off for an additional $15/mo. 'cause I don't have a tv it'd be even cheaper.

-Trevor


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## Spinfinity (Feb 3, 2004)

*I'd rather pur razor blades and upholstery tacks in my shorts!*

Too short a tether for me.


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## jh_on_the_cape (Apr 14, 2004)

In response to the original post: I don't talk on the phone while riding mostly because no one ever calls me.
I wanted a phone for emergencies or that occasional time when it is super useful (those times do exist for me, and prevent commuting home, only to arrive and realize that I need to go back the way I came and I am late) At the recomendation of another mtbr poster, I got a pay as you go virgin mobile phone. it's www.virginmobile.com or something. it's 25 cents a minute flat fee. and you pay like $50 for the phone. i had a cell phone for one year of the monthly subscription type and it was always more than the advertised monthly fee! this way, i know exactly what I am spending as I go. We rarely use it, but when we do, it's super useful.
just thought i would pass along what i think is a useful tip. like shoe-goo!


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