Thursday, February 03, 2005

is this supposed to be alarming for what it says about cell phones--or about elderly drivers?

From CNN.com:
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- A report from the University of Utah says that when motorists between 18 and 25 talk on cell phones, they drive like elderly people -- moving and reacting more slowly and increasing their risk of accidents.

"If you put a 20-year-old driver behind the wheel with a cell phone, his reaction times are the same as a 70-year-old driver," said David Strayer, a University of Utah psychology professor and principal author of the study. "It's like instant aging."

And it doesn't matter whether the phone is hand-held or handsfree, he said. Any activity requiring a driver to "actively be part of a conversation" likely will impair driving abilities, Strayer said.

In fact, motorists who talk on cell phones are more impaired than drunk drivers with blood-alcohol levels exceeding .08, Strayer and colleague Frank Drews, an assistant professor of psychology, found during research conducted in 2003.
If you put the Strayer and Drews studies together, wouldn't it imply that it's less of a public safety hazard to allow an over-the-limit drunk 20 year old on the road than it is to allow a cell-phone-and-alcohol-free 70 year old.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

a 75 yr old talking on a cell phone driving an 18 wheeler while intoxicated and speeding in rush hour traffic it just doesn't get any better than this ive always liked the far end of the spectrum and i couldnt help posting this because some days i just know the world is spinning out of control and im riding the wave of it into exalted oblivion where only pure mathamatics exists so let me spike the probability of connecting with at least one reader of your blog who will respond in some form and fashion shattering the facade of sanity found here i am a beatnik we live!!!!

Anonymous said...

I am the Sol Nazerman of this Blog ("The Pawnbroker, Edward L. Wallant)and though I don't have the Talent of Rod Steiger to portray Sol here, I have responded, Beatnik. Eli W.