RE: [ST] re: Mobile Phone flame war - TORCH ON!

["Rich Crinson" <rich@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mike is absolutely right when he said this;

>It takes considerable training to recognise this weakness and to overcome
it.
>The same situation exist in a car so the next time you are in your car
>receiving a call on your mobile-phone just have a think to where your gaze
has
>shifted.  However, if you are aware of this phenomenon you are halfway
there to
>combating it.  But I still would not want to make serious decisions via a
>mobile phone whether on a moving bike or in a car.

As a Police Motorcyclist, no flames please, I can speak from personal
experience that during a pursuit when giving a commentary you are using
every bit of mental power (in my case not much!) When the pursuit is over,
or a long blue light run for that matter, you are totally wound up with
adrenalin and it is no exaggeration to say that you feel like you have done
five rounds with Mike Tyson, dripping with sweat.  There are definitely more
risks associated with using the radio on the move, even using the thumb
button on the BMW's but it's a trade off, how else do you check the car reg
out, or pass out your location or answer an emergency call?  Using a mobile
phone for an idle chat or to arrange a business meeting is totally
unacceptable when on the move, why not stop?

It does take a lot of training to keep awareness up, but even with good
training and an alert rider the ability to filter hazards will drop with
speed and other functions such as the use of phones and radios.  The
situation with Police radios is slightly different IMHO as any person who
spends most of their working life with a personal radio next to them will
know.  They wont hear the radio unless they hear their name or call sign,
after numerous years this becomes almost a gross motor function and an
automated response, the rest of the radio traffic becomes white noise.  It
still detracts from the riders awareness but not so much as someone asking
you to pick up groceries on the way home.

On my part because I want to have total control I do not use a radio or
mobile phone on my personal machine, I am relaxing, believe you and me on
patrol on a motorcycle it is far from the relaxing experience that it may
appear!!

- ---
Rich Crinson

'01 Black RS




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