Just hang up and DRIVE!
07-02-2006, 08:08 PM
#1
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Just hang up and DRIVE!
"July 1, 2006 10:00 AM PDT
Is having a cell phone pressed to your ear while behind the wheel the equivalent of driving while intoxicated? According to a study by University of Utah psychologists, the answer is, unfortunately, yes.
"Just like you put yourself and other people at risk when you drive drunk, you put yourself and others at risk when you use a cell phone and drive," writes David Strayer, a psychology professor and the study's lead author. "The level of impairment is very similar."
The study, published in the June 29 issue of Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, found that drivers talking on cell phones, either handheld or hands-free, are more likely to crash because they are distracted by conversation.
Using a driving simulator under four different conditions: with no distractions, using a handheld cell phone, talking on a hands-free cell phone, and while intoxicated to the 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level, 40 participants followed a simulated pace car that braked intermittently.
Researchers found that the drivers on cell phones drove more slowly, braked more slowly and were more likely to crash. In fact, the three participants who collided into the pace car were chatting away. None of the drunken drivers crashed.
"This study does not mean people should start driving drunk," said co-author Frank Drews. "It means that driving while talking on a cell phone is as bad as or maybe worse than driving drunk, which is completely unacceptable and cannot be tolerated by society."
Preliminary results from the study were announced three years ago."<ul><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2061-10801_3-6090342.html">http://news.com.com/2061-10801_3-6090342.html</a</li></ul>
Is having a cell phone pressed to your ear while behind the wheel the equivalent of driving while intoxicated? According to a study by University of Utah psychologists, the answer is, unfortunately, yes.
"Just like you put yourself and other people at risk when you drive drunk, you put yourself and others at risk when you use a cell phone and drive," writes David Strayer, a psychology professor and the study's lead author. "The level of impairment is very similar."
The study, published in the June 29 issue of Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, found that drivers talking on cell phones, either handheld or hands-free, are more likely to crash because they are distracted by conversation.
Using a driving simulator under four different conditions: with no distractions, using a handheld cell phone, talking on a hands-free cell phone, and while intoxicated to the 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level, 40 participants followed a simulated pace car that braked intermittently.
Researchers found that the drivers on cell phones drove more slowly, braked more slowly and were more likely to crash. In fact, the three participants who collided into the pace car were chatting away. None of the drunken drivers crashed.
"This study does not mean people should start driving drunk," said co-author Frank Drews. "It means that driving while talking on a cell phone is as bad as or maybe worse than driving drunk, which is completely unacceptable and cannot be tolerated by society."
Preliminary results from the study were announced three years ago."<ul><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2061-10801_3-6090342.html">http://news.com.com/2061-10801_3-6090342.html</a</li></ul>
07-02-2006, 08:24 PM
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Agreed! But...
I wish some of these studies would get a little more detailed. Am I "less safe" while driving on the highway in moderate traffic that is flowing smoothly if I talk on my cell phone with a headset? Probably, but I still think this is pretty different from tooling around in city traffic with one hand on the wheel and the other with the cell phone to my ear. That's when I can SEE the lack of focus that driving & talking can produce. I've narrowly avoided a couple of accidents (at least) while the other person had no idea anything was happening.
I think that it is an unfortunate truth that people ARE going to use their cell phones in the car. If we can just get them to <i>NOT</i> use them without a headset AND only when in driving situations that are reasonably safe, that would be a BIG improvement.
Maybe I'm asking too much to expect people to differentiate and yes, I know that things can happen unexpectedly at any time (and do so faster on the highway), but I think we have to accept that people are not going to give up their phones. If we could get these studies to have a real impact on HOW and WHEN they use them, we'd be taking a step in the right direction.
Just a thought...
I think that it is an unfortunate truth that people ARE going to use their cell phones in the car. If we can just get them to <i>NOT</i> use them without a headset AND only when in driving situations that are reasonably safe, that would be a BIG improvement.
Maybe I'm asking too much to expect people to differentiate and yes, I know that things can happen unexpectedly at any time (and do so faster on the highway), but I think we have to accept that people are not going to give up their phones. If we could get these studies to have a real impact on HOW and WHEN they use them, we'd be taking a step in the right direction.
Just a thought...
07-02-2006, 08:45 PM
#3
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I agree, but we can't seem to let people use judgement - because so few have common sense.
It just seems that every pokey, weaving, non-signalling driver is on a phone. I don't know how much better it would be if they hung up, but it sure can't hurt. My friends know I never answer the phone while driving. They leave a time and number where I can call back.
07-02-2006, 09:39 PM
#4
You don't need a study to tell you this.
I don't know how people can drive and talk while in traffic but I sure have trouble doing it. I hate getting a call while driving and will pull over to talk.
07-03-2006, 05:44 AM
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Driving while distracted
Cell phone use seems to be the most frequent reason for driving while distracted but there are other distractions that are just as dangerous. Reading, makeup and other personal grooming, passengers, radio tuning a CD selection, and the list goes on. The issue isn't really the distraction itself, it's the driver who is taking their attention away from driving that is the problem. Some people can manage it while others can't. I'd like to see police go after people who are distracted for any reason not just cell phone use.
I'm against having a cell phone use law but I do support legislation that would require handsfree use of cell phones.
I'm against having a cell phone use law but I do support legislation that would require handsfree use of cell phones.
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