Well… DUH!
Actually, it’s worse than I thought.
It isn’t exactly breaking news that texting while driving is a bad idea. But a study released Monday night reveals just how dangerous it really can be.
After examining the behavior of truck drivers covering more than 6 million miles of road, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute concluded that people who send text messages while driving are 23 times more likely to be in a crash (or what they call a near-crash event) than nondistracted drivers.To conduct the study, researchers mounted cameras inside drivers’ vehicles. They studied where drivers’ eyes were looking as they did various things, such as texting, dialing a cell phone, talking on a phone, and reaching for an object. Not surprisingly, the numbers (PDF) showed that the tasks that took people’s eyes off the road caused the greatest amount of danger.
In crashes or near-crashes, texting took a driver’s focus away from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds–enough time, the report point out, to travel the length of a football field at 55 mph.
By contrast, talking on a cell phone, which allows drivers to keep their eyes on the road, represented an increased risk of only 1.3 times that of a nondistracted driver.
The cell phone numbers would seem artifically low because there would be a brief very dangerous time of dialing or receiving a call followed by a slightly higher than normal risk while only talking.
Being nagged by a fat wife would also raise the statistics close to that.
Changing stations on your car AM radio also increases by the same amount when you factor in the time frame. It’s merely about the distraction. For example, if one was to keep changing stations as much as they were texting a message the figures would be the same. It’s merely “23 fold” because texting consumes a lot of time, taking the eyes off the road for a longer period of time thus causing the 23 fold number which is probably an exaggeration. I would also argue that the kind of people who text while driving are the kind that don’t give a shit about stopping at STOP signs, they just roll through and basically drive wrecklessly, putting people in danger every day. Wrecklessly?
[recklessly – ed.]
Come ON guys! We can do better than that! How about rolling a joint while driving or being given a BJ while being chased by the cops? We could raise the threat level much farther than a simple 23X.
Mr. Fusion, any nagging wife would cause that… even a skinny one.
#3. What Bullshit.
I for one hate new laws. but I welcome this one. Almost got creamed head on by a jerk just yesterday.
#2 Fusion, being nagged by a fat wife increases the chances of her being ejected from said vehicle 50 fold.
Well, duh!
That information is as useful as hitting dogs in the head just to see if helmets are useful.
I hope Alfredone texts while driving.
#10 – Eric, you sound like a whiny little weasel.
Is anyone truly shocked by these studies? When my girlfriend drives and text at the same time I am scared out of my mind.
Already bad enough she is a bad driver even with out texting.
Pooping while driving is generally safe. Vomiting however, is quite dangerous. It’s hard to stay in your lane.
The most interesting part of the study was the evidence against the “cellphones as bad as/worse than drinking” hype:
“For example, talking and listening to a cell phone is not nearly as risky as driving while drunk at the legal limit of alcohol. Recent comparisons made in the literature greatly exaggerate the cell phone riisk relative to the very serious effects of alcohol use, which increases the risk of a fatal crash approximately seven times that of sober driving. Using simple fatal crash and phone use statistics, if talking on cell phones was as risky as driving while drunk, the number of fatal crashes would have increased roughly 50% in the last decade instead of remaining largely unchanged.”
#6, McCullough
My point exactly. Fat women do cause serious accidents when tumbling down the roadway.
😛
I say let there be freedom! Let these people text and talk while driving. It’s natural selection that they will eventually kill themselves off and that’s a good thing. Just make sure you steer clear of any one of them however.
I’m still stopping my car and have a good laugh when I see someone crash because of this though. And no I’m not going to lift a finger to help the idiot and risk the chance of getting sue. Have a good laugh and move on.
#14, Todd,
Using simple fatal crash and
phone use statistics, if talking on cell phones was as risky as driving while drunk, the number of fatal crashes would have increased roughly 50% in the last decade instead of remaining largely unchanged
As quite often is said, “There are lies, damned lies, and those who incorrectly use statistics to bolster a bad argument.” Drunk driving is a full time event when driving while cell phone distractions are short term events.
Since most accidents take a second or longer to develop, even cell phone users will have some reaction time. Not so with drunk drivers where the reaction time is impaired as well as the reaction itself. Then, if the total distraction time is added up, a drunk’s impairment usually will exceed that of a casual cell phone talker.
BUT, . . . having said all that, explain how that is relevant to the woman that hit me last month while talking on her cell phone. I was in the left lane when she passed me on the right then cut in front so she could pull into a gas station. Even though she had just passed me, she was oblivious to me.