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HSFPP Weekly Update #120—Is Talking While Driving Dangerous?

 Message from Bob & Chris: Talking on the phone while driving is dangerous for any driver, but is especially dangerous for teenage drivers because of their lack of experience and their tendency to lose focus and get distracted. In Update # 71/72, we dealt with alcohol and drug abuse as risks not worth taking. Using a cell phone while driving (or eating or shaving or putting on makeup while driving) should be seen as another risk not worth taking. Driving a car is the most dangerous activity most people undertake in their daily lives, and anything that distracts a driver should be avoided. If you need to use the phone or read a map or do anything else that would distract you, pull over first. It might save your life.

Related Updates:

Update #95 - Another Danger for Used-Car Buyers - 18 May 2004
Update #94 - Size and Weight in Cars - 10 May 2004
Update #90 - Buying a Used Vehicle - 8 April 2004
Update #77—Monitoring Teenagers’ Driving - 15 December 2003
Update #71 / #72 - Risks Not Worth Taking - 27 October 2003
Update #67 - Vehicle Repairs - 29 September 2003
Update #63 - Impact of Driving Record & Credit Score on Car Insurance - 8 August 2003

 

Website Pick of the Week:

http://www.autosafety.org/

The Center for Auto Safety’s Web site provides information on everything related to vehicle safety, including recalls, vehicle safety features, and current laws.

 

Activity for Educators:

 After students read this week’s article In the New$..., use the discussion questions below.

 

In the New$... What Call Is Worth A Life?

“Phone driving is the drunken driving of the new millennium. Seemingly everyone does it, and all of them seem to believe that they are skilled in a way that prevents their powers of perception from being clouded by the fog of isolation that envelops drivers who talk on the phone.

“Everyone who isn't o­n the phone while driving sees evidence of it every day, as drivers weave and stutter drunkenly through traffic while negotiating peace in the Middle East over the phone, or their kid's allowance, or some other question that, while too important to wait, doesn't merit pulling over to the side and parking for a few minutes to make the call. Those who are on the phone not only don't see others weaving in their lanes, they don't realize that they themselves are doing it.

“ Virginia is taking a step in the right direction with a bill to prohibit phone use by drivers younger than 18. State Sen. Bill Mims (R-Loudoun) and Del. Joe May (R-Loudoun) recognize that teen drivers have a hard enough time staying out of trouble without the distraction of telephone conversation. But the truth is that adults are affected in much the same way: Talking o­n a cell phone while driving makes them as likely to be involved in a crash as if they were drunk.

“Here's the warning from Steve Largent, an NFL Hall of Famer and now president of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association. ‘You may need to save your calls until you reach your destination, or at least pull into a safe place such as a parking lot to make your call,’ Largent told cell phone users in a Memorial Day weekend alert. Top item on the CTIA’s checklist? ‘Keep the call short.’

“And that's from the cell phone industry's lobbyists.

“Driving while talking on the phone should be illegal for everyone, not just teenagers. The Virginia bill is a good first step because it puts the topic of banning cell phone use on the public agenda. But it doesn't go far enough. Virginia's General Assembly needs to pass the bill this year and then start working on another to prohibit phone use by all drivers.

“Some people have the mistaken belief that only handheld phones pose a threat. We've all seen the drivers who intently study the screen and carefully dial numbers when they should be looking at the road. But the real hazard posed by phone driving is mental, not physical, so hands-free phones don't help. The driver is expending too much brainpower conversing with the person on the other end of the phone and not enough paying attention to the road. These drivers are as much of a threat to you and to your family as a drunk driver.

“Studies from the University of North Carolina, the University of Utah, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Rhode Island quantify the specific impairment posed by phone conversations while driving.

“Exxon Mobil prohibits its employees from talking on the phone while driving company cars. It did so after conducting a study finding that the braking reaction time of phone drivers is three times longer than that of drunk drivers. ExxonMobil researchers also found that phone drivers are as likely to rear-end the car ahead as drunks, and that they are unable to maintain position in their lane. As with all other studies, Exxon Mobil found that it makes no difference whether the driver uses a hands-free phone.

“The University of Utah says that young phone drivers have the reaction times of senior citizens and are blind to events around them. ‘Even though your eyes are looking right at something, when you are on the cell phone, you are not as likely to see it,’ Utah researcher David Strayer observed. University of Rhode Island researchers found that phone drivers have tunnel vision that excludes everything else. UNC says they are twice as likely to rear-end the car ahead as drivers not using phones. Meanwhile, research at Illinois demonstrated that conversations among occupants in a car produce no similar distraction.

“None of the research has suggested that phones can be used safely by people who are responsible for piloting vehicles. The best that defenders of phone driving can manage is to point out that phones can be used to call for assistance or to report other motorists in distress. But such calls can be made just as effectively by passengers in the car or from a stopped car.

“No complaints about the quality of driving and no highway safety initiatives can be taken seriously as long as it is legal for drivers to knowingly handicap themselves as severely as this research indicates.

“Drivers of all ages should be required by law to hang up and drive.”

Source: Dan Carney, WashingtonPost. From The Center for Auto Safety’s Web site:
http://www.autosafety.org/article.php?scid=148&did=1043

 

Activity for Students:

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you use a cell phone while driving? Yes___ No___
   
   
2. Do you think using a cell phone while driving affects the driver’s concentration and focus on the road? Yes___ No___
   
   
3. Should Kentucky have a law prohibiting anybody (regardless of age) from using a cell phone while driving? Yes___ No___ Explain reason.
   
   
4. Why do you think more states have not enacted laws against cell phone use in cars?

Kentucky High School Financial Planning Program

http://www.ca.uky.edu/fcs/hsfp

The purpose of this Web site is to assist county extension agents, credit union educators, and high school teachers in improving the economic well-being of our constituency, beginning with today’s students; and also, to assist teachers in Kentucky in meeting KERA’s goal that all students become technologically literate. Weekly Updates are provided by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, and are free to all educators.