Does Tint interfere with cell reception

I have Johnson 5% all around and strip on windshield. No issues at all.

 

yep. Although the bigger problem is yapping on the phone while driving.

 

Obviously you do, or you would not be so foolish to divert your attention from driving. You meant you do not want them.

 

Quicksilver, newbie forum is probably a good place to post. SageBrush is a regular here and makes up with his experience and fund of knowledge what he may lack in tact. He will grow on you.

Welcome to PriusChat!

 

Listening to something on the radio is not much of a problem as long as it doesn't capture your attention and divert it from the immediate attention necessary for driving. If the podcast is set up before you start driving and you don't touch the phone after that it's ok. If you change it while driving it is a problem. I work part time as a crossing guard for an elementary school plus ride a bicycle for most of my "running around town". It's amazing how many people honestly believe they are safe drivers and not even aware of the close calls they've been in when behind the wheel with an electronic device of any kind in hand.
Changing a channel, checking/sending a text message or talking on the cell phone is not worth accidentally killing someone over. You won't even be aware how dangerous you really are until the damage is already done.

 

Nonsense.

Attention directed to the podcast cannot be directed to driving at the same time. People do not multi-task, they split their full attention into small time-slices.

I often have the opportunity to watch my wife drive, both listening and not to podcasts. Her reaction times to traffic are way different. I will say that a confounding factor is general alertness on long drives. She is overall more awake on long drives while listening to a podcast so I don't argue with her preference. But make no mistake -- attention IS diverted.

 

So you are, in fact, saying you advocate not even listening to a music radio station or talking to your passengers at all while you are driving? Somehow I don't believe you are practicing what you are preaching.

 

Yeah Sage is being absolutely Ridiculous!

You (op) never said you drive around with your phone in your hand flipping through all your different songs, all while as he puts it blabbing on you phone!

You asked a legitimate question about how tint effects reception.. He went off on a tangent that has nothing to do with anything, maybe he is having a bad day who knows, but not a good way to greet a new member. I tried to help and stated that in my experience there has been no known issues with cell reception/ streaming issues in my tinted Prius..

Sage assumed that you drive around like a distracted teeny bopper doing 4 things at once. I guess he doesn't realize that our cars have steering wheel controls thus stereo / Nav (via voice command), and hvac, and displays can be fully controlled by the steering wheel controls without ever taking your eyes off the road or either of your hands off of the proper positions on the steering wheel.

Edit: In many states (including PA where I live) just using your Cell phone to dial a number and talk with it while in your hand and up to your ear IS still Legal. But they did outlaw texting and driving a couple yrs back.

But honestly with Bluetooth and voice command who really even uses handheld anymore...

 

The 'factory' navigation on the Spark and Sonic, besides OnStar, is the BringGo app and it requires a smart phone paired to the MyLink radio.
BringGo

 

I have to admit, Sage makes a good point about cell phones BUT....in keeping with the OP's question, you can buy ceramic tint (and some others) that will not interfere with cell phone reception.

Make sure that you keep within your state's tint limits, and be prepared to get pulled over a little more often.
Most LEOs (cops) HATE window tint, especially in more rural locales (like eastern TN.)
If you're legal they can't write you, but you give them a freebee as far as needing a reason to pull you over is concerned.

Good Luck!

 

And I agree, it's silly to do so... although legal in my state to use the handheld phones it does drive me nuts getting cut off almost daily by the cell phone users. Mostly it's the text'ers though. They drive worse than the darn drunks. At least in my car I'm somewhat protected but on my motorcycle it's a game of dodge the text'ers, non signal users...

 

I'll repeat what I said with slightly different words in hopes you read the entire sentence this time:

Chatting on the phone, listening to a movie or a podcast, listening to music, or chatting with a passenger are ALL diverting some of your attention from driving. It should be obvious since it is common sense. They are not equal, and they will vary from driver to driver and from day to day. Confounding issues though are the general alertness of the driver and the effect the diversion has on overall alertness.

Background music seems (to my knowledge, unproven) like a good idea to help stay awake. A podcast that you focus on to hear what is said and to think about is not a good idea and is similar to yapping on a phone.

If you are interested, I'll dig up some of the medical literature available evaluating reflex performance in people talking on the phone held to their ear Vs bluetooth. Perhaps not surprising, the telephone holding driver tends to match a driver over the legal limit of alcohol intoxication. The surprise ? Talking over BT is no better. The point is that the actions don't matter; what matters is where your attention is. You can stare at the road without processing and reacting to what you see.

I have had this conversation before. People who want to yap on their phone, drink alcohol or whatever are full of excuses why they are different or their preferred diversion is OK. All I can say is 1. Don't kid yourself; and 2. So long as you are not endangering others take whatever risk you want with your own life. Just do not expect me to pay to keep your damaged self alive after the accident.

 

Yes, it is such a daily joy even in a cage.
However, phones aren't just phones anymore, and there are uses beyond phone calls and texts. Streaming music on a phone that is compatiable with the Car's radio is no more a distraction than using the radio. Same with Nav apps. They can aslo be a mobile hot spot for passengers, or even used just by the passengers.

Then OnStar, Entune, and the like also require cell reception in order to work. So there is no need to meet any questions about impact on it with judgement.

On long trips, I find talk radio or podcasts help me stay alert, whereas the rythrym of music can make me sleepy(I used to go to sleep to heavy metal). On my daily drive, music is more enjoyable. But this is all individual and situation depend. When driving in new areas or traffic gets harry, many people will turn the radio down or off to focus more on driving.

I thought the BlueTooth phone calls being as bad as holding the phone was old news. Phone calls are worse than talking in the car, because the person on the other end of the phone don't know what is going on around the car. a passenger likely does, and. hopefully, knows when to shut up.

 

SageBrush - I read your entire sentence. You called my statement about listening to a hands-free podcast "Nonsense" You assumed from your experience the OP was podcasting something other than music and would have his attention diverted. Since almost every podcast in our household is musical in nature I made the assumption it was probably musical and it would be ok.
You also made the statement "People do not multi-task, they split their full attention into small time-slices." That indicates a human inability to do anything else in the car safely while driving, a standpoint you appeared to be advocating. That position would include listening to any music and discussions with passengers if you're condemning musical podcasts.
If you had read my answer you would have realized we're on the same side regarding distracted driving. I talked about the danger of talking, texting or changing (assumed musical) podcasts while driving. I said absolutely nothing regarding Bluetooth but I do agree it's just as dangerous.. I've read the studies and I've seen the horrible results first hand. I have no desire to be by the side of the road with any more dead bodies that were the result of someone's distracted driving. Been there, seen that.

 

Neither is true. Perhaps a demonstration would help:

Have two people talk to you at the same time about two different topics. Can you follow both conversations closely ?
Second test: follow one conversation and pretty much ignore the other, but be aware when the second conversation stops.

 

Way to take it out of context by ignoring the word "appeared" and ignoring the next sentence of that paragraph as well that included the phrase "if you're condemning musical podcasts".
The reply I made was pointing out how two people can come from differing experiences to reach two different conclusions when they both have the same information. In this instance we both agree with regards to distracted driving but the disagreement was with regards to the degree as your stance on podcasts appeared to be much harsher. That was a result of our differing understanding of the nature of the podcasts the OP was planning on playing, something he still hasn't clarified.

BTW, my sentence that originally set you off was a reaction to this post

which you didn't answer directly. I did.

There simply is nothing to argue about here. We agree on distracted driving and have incomplete information on the type of podcasts the OP plans to play. The argument was based on how your stance appeared to us, which was not necessarily actually what it was.