So using cellphones while driving is bad
I’m what you call a professional promoter for the “don’t use a cell while driving” law. But off the record, I can’t help but pick up the phone when I’m driving. The suspense to know who called and why is too great for me to resist.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this law and have recently begun to moot its effectiveness. Put it this way - try to see how different talking on a cell is while driving with eating while driving, chatting while driving, listening to music while driving and tending with your dog while driving (I found this to be the most distracting among the list because of my doggie’s unresistable cuteness).
Recent studies however have indicated that unlike eating and chatting, using a cell while driving greatly reduces reaction time because even though your eyes are on the road, your mind is somewhere else.
“Our findings indicate that laws that still allow drivers to use hands-free devices will not eliminate the crash risk of phone use,” said McCartt. “In fact, to the extent that drivers perceive that hand-free phone use is safer, in some sense, these laws could have a detrimental effect if drivers increase their use of hands-free phone use.”
So even the hands free users aren’t spared. What’s interesting is that it is safer to be with a drunk driver than with a chatty cellphone driver.
Strayer and his colleagues have been down this road before. In 2001, they found that even hands-free cell phone use distracted drivers. In 2003 they revealed a reason: Drivers look but don’t see, because they’re distracted by the conversation. The scientists also found previously that chatty motorists are less adept than drunken drivers with blood alcohol levels exceeding 0.08.
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POSTED IN: The Unwired Life
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Cellphone9.com - The b5media Cellphone and Mobile Blog » Seak-King and Motorola Bluetooth helmet
Oct 16, 2005 at 7:56 am
[...] What’s this I was saying about driving while talking on a cell? Well, since some people find the rules too impractical, here is a practical solution not to get caught by the cops while driving … a bike. The helmet itself is not made by Motorola, but by a reputed menufacturer called as Sea-King. Motorola simply adds the bluetooth element to it, after of course taking care that the design change does not in any way compromise the structural integrity of the helmet or the occupant. The helmet costs approximately 750 dollars. [...]
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