It is indeed important to maintain perspective. Personally, I don't like to see people drive and talk on the phone at the same time -- it's a visible sign of a disregard for their own safety and the safety of others on the road. But if you review the statistics and studies on the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) website, it's plain to see that talking on a cell phone isn't the holy grail of driving abuse that some make it out to be. For example, the NHTSA estimates that driver distraction from ALL sources contributes to 25 percent of all police-reported traffic crashes. They do say that cell phone usage can present a significant cognitive distraction, but the study also admits that cell phone usage may be no more of a distraction than talking to someone else in the vehicle. Furthermore, in a controlled study, comparing eating and operating a cell phone to continuously operating a CD player, it was found that the CD player operation was more distracting than the other activities. In a test track study conducted by NHTSA, the results showed that manual dialing was about as distracting as grooming/eating, but less distracting than reading or changing CDs.
This leads me to wonder, despite my great dislike for drivers who yap on the phone while driving, if cell phone usage isn't the real culprit -- it's the drivers themselves. Some people are prone to distraction, and if it wasn't a cell phone they might be daydreaming, or flipping the radio around, or chatting with someone else in the car. What we might have to consider is that people may be at fault, not cell phones, and while banning cell phone usage while driving may placate the public screaming for action, it may also be that those same people who would distract themselves using a cell phone may find something else to take its place. -Steve > Actually, the DOT did a study of accidents caused by distracted drivers a > few years ago. About 80% were caused by distractions outside the car > (billboards, that woman walking down the street, etc.). Of the 20% caused > by distractions inside the car, the top two were eating in the car and > adjusting the car stereo. Cell phones were responsible for just over 10% > the number of accidents caused by eating while driving. If we're enacting > laws, lets start with McDonald's drive-thrus and car stereos. > > Brian > BRIAN THOMAS > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Larry Foran" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 6:22 AM > Subject: Re: [Biofuel] cell phones and safety > > > Kim, > I continue to be amazed by the disregard for others demonstrated by > most drivers. I commute 30 miles to and from work each day. I see > people reading books, talking on phones, and/or putting on makeup > while driving. Our society seems to think that multi-taksing extends > into their driving time. > Talking on the phone take more attention than having a conversation > with another passenger, but people still do not seem to care. I can > see that laws similar to drunk driving laws will need to be enacted > before people understand the gravity of their actions. > > Larry > > On 5/6/05, Kim & Garth Travis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> Greetings Friends, >> >> I find myself in need of doing a little preaching today. Sorry, but for >> me, this is the best way I can deal with the horror of last night. >> >> Last night a young women of 21 or so was driving down the highway >> talking >> on her cell phone and definitely driving with no care and attention to >> what >> she was doing. I guess she thought that by staying mostly on the >> shoulder, >> it was safe to drive and talk. Then she dropped her cell phone and >> reached >> for it. A man, barely 10 years her senior who was riding his bicycle, >> died >> because of her actions. Her life will never be the same, either. >> >> As for me, I can not work to erase the memory of what I saw until he has >> had his day in court. >> >> Please, turn your cell phones off while driving. It was not just that >> she >> dropped that cell phone. She did not see the cyclist, because she was >> distracted by her conversation. He was plainly visible long before he >> was >> hit, I know, I watched the accident about to happen and it did. >> >> Bright Blessings, >> Kim >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Biofuel mailing list >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel >> >> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: >> http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html >> >> Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): >> http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ >> > _______________________________________________ > Biofuel mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): > http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ > > _______________________________________________ > Biofuel mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): > http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ > _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/
