surelyyourenotserious.com
Second Verse, Same as the First

Okay. Maybe I’m just being neurotic. Maybe I’m obsessing. Maybe I’m beating a dead horse. (You don’t HAVE to agree with me.) Today, I found yet another article on driving while using a cell phone. Yes, I’ve posted about this before.

U of Utah published one of the first studies I read on the subject. They just finished a new study in which 40 drivers, both male and female, were put in a driving simulator. They drove normally. Then, they drove while talking on a cell phone. Finally, they drove while legally drunk (0.08 b.a.c.). The results will probably surprise you.

While intoxicated, the drivers followed too close, hit the breaks too hard (which in real-life would get them rear-ended) and had a bunch of “close calls”, but no accidents.

While talking on the phone (with or without “hands free” devices), they drove erratically, not keeping a consistent speed or following distance, and their reaction times where much slower. The phoning drivers had three accidents.

Yes, you got that right. The phoning drivers had more accidents than the drunk drivers. We all know that driving drunk is dangerous and, in the real world, does cause accidents, but talking on the cell phone is quite possibly more dangerous than driving drunk.

Cell phone makers continue to cry foul, insisting that other distracting activities are worse than phone driving. Specifically, they point out that putting on make-up (farding), and reading are statistically more dangerous. Well, DUH. But according to the NHTSA, about 10% of the drivers on the road, at any given time, are on the phone. I’m confident that far fewer folks are taking in War and Peace on the highway. And don’t get me started on farding in the car. That’s probably the only thing that aggravates me worse that cell phones behind the wheel.

© Copyright 2004-2005, Light-Spark Design
Powered By WordPress