Distraction reaches crucial level
The good news is that cell phone use has brought the topic of distracted driving to the forefront. The bad news is that the handy electronic device nearly all of us are addicted to has itself become the main distraction.
I’ve written of driving distractions for several years — beginning before cell phones even made the list of popular distractions. Once, rubbernecking at roadside scenery and events was the main concern. Now, given the phenomenal market penetration of the cell phone, coupled with its relatively recent popularity for texting and accessing the internet, none of those old driver distractions are much concern in comparison.
Drivers still make errors while shooing bees, controlling children, tuning the radio and rubbernecking, but many of those distractions have been displaced by cell phone use. Drivers are spending so much time messing with their phones while driving that they lack the time to engage in other distractions. That’s not a good thing, though, since the cell phone’s degree of distraction is frightening, especially when drivers are creating or reading texts. Vehicles travel at 103 feet per second while at a speed of 70 mph necessitating eyes on the road at all times.
There have been numerous scientific studies, employing cell phone users in driving simulators, which demonstrate the ills of phone-conversing and texting while driving. Texting drivers take their eyes off the road for an average of 3.5 seconds multiple times while creating texts and for 4 second intervals while reading them.
A real-world texting test (using real cars and drivers) was conducted by Car and Driver magazine, and it resulted in some startling conclusions. In their methodology, they also decided to compare the results of texting to the effects of drunk driving. To protect innocent bystanders, testing took place at an abandoned airport runway.
Their test focused solely on driver reaction times to a light mounted on the windshield at eye level meant to simulate a lead car’s brake lights. A 37 year old car enthusiast and a 22 year old Web intern were the test subjects using a Blackberry phone driving a Honda Pilot.
They established a baseline reaction time for each driver, without texting or drinking, by recording how long it took them to hit the brakes when the red light affixed to the windshield lit up at both 35 and 70 mph.
Next, the reaction times were recorded while the drivers read a received text aloud, and then, while they typed the same text they just received. The following segment had the subjects drink liquor until they reached the legal driving limit of .08 percent blood-alcohol content as determined by blowing into a Lifeloc breath-alcohol analyzer.
Though anecdotal, the results were eye-opening when the averages were compiled for the drivers’ five attempts at each scenario. The younger subject did a bit better than the older one, but both faired far worse while texting than when legally drunk. That’s not to say that driving under the influence is good, but driving while texting is just that bad. And this test only measured response to a light — reduction in motor skills and cognitive power associated with impaired driving were not exposed.
When all of the reaction times were averaged for each driver, the younger one’s slower times resulted in an extra 11 feet travelled while reading, 9 feet while texting, and 11 feet while intoxicated going 70 mph. The older driver travelled an extra 45, 70 and 7 feet over his baseline in the same test situations. Since the tests were conducted on a vacant runway, findings could only be worse among traffic, signals and pedestrians.
I’m not the only one concerned about this. AAA lists over 20 articles on the topic at their Website for the month of July alone. States are scrambling to enact related enforcement efforts and education campaigns. I hereby join the education portion.
Over half of all drivers admit to sending and receiving texts while driving. Please resist the urge to do so until you are safely stopped and parked. I don’t want to share the road with you if you keep it up!
Readers may contact Bill Love via e-mail at precisiondriving@spokesman.com.
