Hands-free or not, cell phones still distracting
A Virginia Tech-NHTSA team studied 100 drivers for a year and has concluded that cell phone
use is a key cause of traffic accidents. This closely watched study was released yesterday. The team of researchers
used cameras and other sensors to record what happens before a crash or near miss. One of the goals of the study was to
discover if hands-free devices offer any sort of safety advantage. It seems that it is not the cell phone itself, but
the conversation that is distracting. Of course, the cell phone companies argue that cell phones are not the only
driver distraction. Sounds like, "Stop picking on me." The bottom line is you should be careful about distractions
while driving.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
gt 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
does anybody know anybody that has 'caused' one of these accidents. if it were so frequent you would think more people would be like, yea i got jimmy in a wreck the other night. and how freaky would it be being on the other end of the line when it happens, hearing crashing metal, um, jimmy you there?
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Conan the Grammarian 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
In 2000, a lunatic named Jack E. Robinnson was running for the Senate against Ted Kennedy--and got into an accident while giving a live interview via cellphone. The tape got national play. The guy became known as "Danger Jack Robinson".
http://archive.salon.com/politics2000/feature/2000/04/04/robinson/print.html
If you're fixated on personal anecdotes, yeah, I had a car totalled by a florist delivery van while the driver was looking for his ringing cell phone.
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J ron 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
I had a near miss yesterday night. Some young kid flapping on his cell phone cut a corner way to short, swerved to avoid me, he almost hit a fire hydrant. He was also driving way to fast, thus the sharp left turn. Was it the cell phone? Or the reckless driving? Both?
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David 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
Duh...
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Joel A 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
This again? How tired?
I used to work for a major wireless company. A few years ago, a survey done based on police accident records showed the number one item that distracted folks was...food.
Yep. Apparently munching, sipping/slurping, or wiping one's face distracted folks enough to get into crashes.
It gets better. Number two and three were...
Hygiene (i.e., putting on makeup or shaving)
and
Changing the vehicle's music
Cell phones were way at the bottom.
So, based on THAT report, shall the states require warnings on all fast food? Makeup and razor blades? And let's add to CDs: only change when vehicle is not moving.
Gawk! This is so tired.
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Poe 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
There was a guy on another internet forum I read last night asking for advice on how his teenage girlfriend should fight a speeding ticket she got. Aparently her excuse to the officer for doing 92mph in a 65 zone was that she was... you guessed it... TALKING ON HER CELL PHONE and didn't realize how fast she was going. 92mph!!! I hope they make an example out of her. Maybe that will prevent her from killing someone (or herself) in the future.
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Rufus 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
Why would this conclusion surprise anybody?
I wish I had a dollar for every time I've noticed some driver doing something less-than-smart, only to find out that they were yapping on a cell phone. And most of them are women, driving SUVs and vans.
Oops, is that a hate crime?
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J ron 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
i don't understand what can be so important that it can't wait for the parking lot, driveway, or even the highway. When i'm drivng I let my phone ring to voice mail and check it when it is safe to. I don't think all the people i see swerving, stopping short, running stop signs are on the phone with their dieing mother.
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Kurt - onthehoist.com 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
The best one I saw recently was a guy on the busiest highway in Canada during rush hour talking on his cell phone using his right hand as he was honking and waving with his left hand at a large apartment building that he was driving by at 40mph. I'm assuming he was honking and waving to the people who he was on the phone with. In case it matters, he was driving a new Mercedes.
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Pinkerton 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
IMHO, people talking on cell phones are more prone to...
-Not using turn signals
-Driving under the speed limit in the fast lane
-Not noticing merging traffic
-Wandering out of their lanes
Or are these just the finer points of driving that people in general are lacking?
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clearlynuts 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
"Cell phone drivers" are the new "smokers in public places". They refuse to believe what they are doing affects anyone else in any adverse manner. And if you don't like it, go somewhere else.
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Rick Warren 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
SUV's and cell phones, a deadly combination. Remember when not being "connected" was a good thing. I saw a recent study that showed cell phones while driving were worse than drivers that had been drinking.
I'll drink to that! :)
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CptMystic 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
A recent British study showed that cels impair
reaction times more than moderate marijuana use.
It's somewhat fascinating to me, particularly
hands-free cels - why is it so much more
distracting than just having someone sitting in
the passenger seat that you're conversing with,
which most people seem to handle just fine?
Pinkerton, you left out ignoring stop signs and
red lights.
Kurt, I fail to see what driving a Mercedes has
to do with it...idiots drive all sorts of
vehicles - 75% of California drivers seem to
have a phone glued to their ear, I firmly
believe that's why our traffic is the worst in
the country.
It's all just cranial rectosis. It's a
debilitating disease, and the only cure is
amputation.
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md 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
Joel, there was actually a similar study done by VDOT and I think was JMU recently about distractions while driving, and found cell phones to be near the bottom of the list of most distracting as well
Rick, why have you generalized about SUVs? Any idiot on his cell phone in any type of vehicle is a deadly combination. In my area at least, the most people distracted on their phones seem to be those driving premium and luxury vehicles, not SUVs.
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Tucker 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
Ok. I hate to be the devil's advocate, but I drive an SUV (the last REAL SUV- '98 Cherokee, and not the mom-mobile Grand), and I frequently use my mobile phone while driving (and not always with the headset =-o). However, I have never had an accident or "near miss" because of it. I signal and practice safe driving the same way I always do. Getting phone conversations out of the way is a great way to pass the time during a commute.
The fact of the matter is that there are many, many distracting things we can do while driving, including conversing with passengers. Is a cell conversation any more engaging than one with someone sitting next to you? I, for one, tend to talk with my hands and look at the person. That's a lot more distracting than looking straight ahead while on the phone.
When it comes right down to it, some people just aren't cautious drivers. It's a shame, and putting anything (phone, food, CDs, screaming kids in the back seat) in the hands of an already unsafe driver is a bad thing, but we can't stop it.
I'm sorry if you got pissed because a [insert stereotype here] cut you off in an SUV while talking on a cell phone, eating a big mac, reading the morning paper and driving with their feet, but it's kind of offensive to always hear people complaining about the small pieces of the big puzzle -- straight up bad drivers.
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Scott 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
Yep, some people still unwilling to admit, even after numerous studies, that cell phones are way at the bottom of the list of things that contribute to crashes.
I didn't say that they AREN'T dangerous, but I think it's only fair to outlaw the MOST dangerous things FIRST, instead of vice versa. Need to outlaw eating, putting on makeup, reading, changing CDs, etc.
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eric 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
We should be allowed to beat the hell out of the idiots who drive and talk on their cell phones at the same time. Even the the cell phone lovers on this blog admit that it IS distracting and there are numerous bad drivers out there. Why then would any sane person CHOOSE to intentionally distract themselves when they know everyone else on the road is a freaking moron? You all deserve to die in a fiery car crash, because it doesn't matter if you're a good driver while using your cell phone...odds are the other people on the road aren't. Driving is a privilege not a right, and you need to be paying attention as much as possible when you're on OUR roads. Pull over or wait until you get home to talk on your cell phone @ssholes!
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M.- 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
In Europe is forbidden to use the cell phone while driving, unless used with a hands free devise (not included head phones). Also new Saabs and Volvo's phones don't ring while emergency breaking.... all this got to be for something... PREVENTING DEATH
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Scott 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
Eric, should we be allowed to beat people that eat while driving, since it is proven to be MORE distracting than talking on a cell phone and causes MORE accidents? I don't see how you can outlaw one but not the other.
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eric 10:44PM (12/18/2005)
Scott, Yes!!
We should be allowed to beat anyone who through their own choices intentionally places the rest of us in danger.
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