No Cell Phone

Ivan reminded us, very powerfully, just how fragile life is. Yet we seem unable to use this knowledge to reinforce positive driving behaviours, such as obeying the speed limit; appointing a designated (non-drinking) driver for nights out; driving safely for weather, road and traffic conditions, and pulling over, or waiting until we reach our destinations, to use the cell phone.

Proof of the danger of combining cell phone use and driving is beginning to mount. This week a new study from the University of Utah (reported on MSNBC) shows that cell phone users have slower reaction times that increase the risk of accidents and tie up traffic.

“If you put a 20-year-old driver behind the wheel with a cell phone, their reaction times are the same as a 70-year-old driver who is not using a cell phone,” said University of Utah psychology professor David Strayer. “It’s like instantly aging a large number of drivers.”

Drivers talking on cell phones were 18% slower to react to brake lights, the new study found. On the plus side, these drivers did keep a 12% greater following distance; however they also added to other drivers’ frustration by taking 17% longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked.

“Once drivers on cell phones hit the brakes, it takes them longer to get back into the normal flow of traffic,” Strayer said. “The net result is they are impeding the overall flow of traffic.”

The study was published in Human Factors, and the journal also reported that cell phone distractions cause 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States every year.