Talking On A Cell Phone While Driving Is As Dangerous As Driving Drunk
Terry Bryant November 16th, 2007
A study from researchers at the University of Utah, published in the summer 2006 issue of Human Factors, concludes that talking on a cell phone while driving is as dangerous as driving drunk, even if the phone is a hands-free model. An earlier study by researchers at the university found that motorists who talked on hands-free cell phones were 18 percent slower in braking and took 17 percent longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked.
Another study released in April 2006 found that almost 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds of the event. And multiple studies have identified cell phone use while driving, as the most prevalent of all driving distractions. In January 2007 Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. did a survey of 1200 drivers and found that 73 percent talk on cell phones while driving.
Text messaging via cell phone is described as the biggest driving distraction according to a survey conducted by the Liberty Mutual Research Institute and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD). Of the teens surveyed, 37 percent said that text messaging was extremely or very distracting. Nationwide Insurance found that 19 percent of motorists say they text message while driving.
It is not a coincidence that so many organizations are studying driving and cell phone use. The consequences of these activities, when performed together, are sometimes catastrophic. At Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law we have sent our clients several cautions about driving and the use of cell phones because we see what can happen and we don’t want it to happen to you or someone in your family.
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