July 2, 2006
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How often have you been behind a car whose driver is driving too slowly for the traffic, drifting into others’ lanes, sitting too long when the light turns green, etc. only to find the driver is talking on a cell phone?
I believe this completely: Cell Phones Make Drivers as Bad as Drunks
A study in which both the participants and the scientists got sloshed
has shown that motorists who talk on cell phones while driving are as
impaired as drunk drivers.By participating, the researchers gained insight to what makes
people think they can drive safely while using a cell phone or when
drunk. They’re now advocating for laws to address the growing problem.An unexpected finding: While some of the participants crashed in a
virtual vehicle while sober and chatting, none of them crashed while
drunk.The study supports previous research that has revealed the risks of using cell phones and also hands-free cell phones behind the wheel.
“We found that people are as impaired when they drive and talk on a
cell phone as they are when they drive intoxicated at the legal
blood-alcohol limit,” said Frank Drews, an assistant professor of
psychology at the University of Utah.Previous studies have suggested as many as 2,600 people are killed each year in
accidents involving drivers on cell phones. About 10 percent of drivers
say they sometimes talk on cell phones while driving, and that figure
is growing.A recent poll revealed that two-thirds of Americans would support a ban on using cell phones while driving. A separate poll found 28 percent of cell phone users say they sometimes don’t drive as safely as they should while talking.
Lesson: DO NOT TALK ON THE PHONE WHILE DRIVING!!!
If you think I’m talking to you, then I probably am.
Comments (4)
The other day…I was behind a city police car which was acting very much like you describe… I thought to myself, “He is driving as if he were talking on the phone!” Sure enough, that was exactly the case. I thought that they had set ups so that they would not be so distracted? I guess not. It is definitely a prolific problem!
I’ve read the studies, and the TV show Mythbusters proved it’s true: driving and talking on cell phones is dangerous. But for the life of me, I can’t see how talkng on a cell is different from chatting with people in the car. Especially a hands free cell. Of course, you have to use discretion. There’ve been times when I’ve said “be quiet now for a few while I drive” and I’m certain that Abbie’s accident took place when she was busily chatting with her friend in the car…distracted…
But I’m getting to the point myself, of taking the cell along for emergency use only. As a radio program on this topic recently pointed out: Lindberg flew across the Atlantic without a radio, and we can’t make it through the produce department without connecting?
About five years ago I was with some friends and we were stopped on the road to make a left turn. The next thing I remember was waking up and thinking I was asleep on on the sofa with my nose in the back of it. Turned out we had been hit by a 17 year old girl who had her car on cruise control (65) and talking to her boyfriend on her cell phone. She never saw us and never braked. I was in the passenger seat and the seatback broke and I flew under the seatbelt and lodged against the slider door. Thankfully the worst injury was a broken arm and there were seven of us in the van and two in the car. And the first thing she did with her cell phone was not to call 911, but to call her parents. So yes, I am with you on not talking on the cell phone while you are driving!
Okay, that was scary, MM. =8^o
What a mercy the injuries weren’t worse than they were! Did she hit y’all from the rear?