We Needed A Study For That?
A study published today in the British Medical Journal indicates a causal link between cell phone use while driving and serious-injury accidents. The data indicates that there is no safety benefit to using hands-free devices. Duh! Did anyone bother to check the original study data from a few years ago? You know, the one that led to many states and localities passing hands-free legislation in the first place? The one that said talking on the phone used up something like 60% of the parts of the brain involved in driving? The one that said it was the use of the phone, not holding the phone that caused the problem?
The findings even support claims that hand-free laws were detrimental, as drivers perceived an increased safety factor and therefore increased their phone usage. This is exactly why several localities passed ordinances against using the cell phone while driving, period.
The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association is already criticizing the study by claiming that the distractions caused by the phone are similar to those caused by eating (again, Duh! – that study was done many, many years ago) and by talking to passengers. To the latter point, that condition was tested for by the original study and found to be non-contributing to increased accident rates. I suggest the CTIA have a chat with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety before they make such claims.
It is clear that CTIA’s goal is to link a proven bad habit (phone usage) with a normal, everyday, safe activity (talking to passengers) in an effort to prevent legislation that would clearly be detrimental to their industry goals. After all, no one is seriously considering banning talking in the family car.
Lest someone accuse me of hypocrisy, I have said that government does not exist to save you from yourself, but they do have a responsibility for protecting me from you. When actions in which you engage directly impact my rights, government has an obligation to enact legislation that minimizes your chance of “success” and punishes you if you do “succeed,” ridiculous links to other activities notwithstanding.
We certainly don’t need a study to tell us that phone usage is the problem. A quick drive around town will suffice to demonstrate that on average, users of cell phones have the worst driving habits while using the phone. Whether it is failing to signal, slowing unnecessarily, failing to yield, or blowing through stop lights, it is clear that concentration on driving is interrupted by the conversation on the phone.
Everyone has been in a car with a driver who turned down the radio while looking for a street address. It is a subconscious act brought about by the fact that we can only concentrate on one thing at a time. So what is more important, what you are having for dinner, or getting home safely to eat it?
It’s not rocket science. There was a time in the not too distant past when there were no cell phones. Somehow the world survived. Might I suggest that call can wait 20 minutes?
The findings even support claims that hand-free laws were detrimental, as drivers perceived an increased safety factor and therefore increased their phone usage. This is exactly why several localities passed ordinances against using the cell phone while driving, period.
The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association is already criticizing the study by claiming that the distractions caused by the phone are similar to those caused by eating (again, Duh! – that study was done many, many years ago) and by talking to passengers. To the latter point, that condition was tested for by the original study and found to be non-contributing to increased accident rates. I suggest the CTIA have a chat with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety before they make such claims.
It is clear that CTIA’s goal is to link a proven bad habit (phone usage) with a normal, everyday, safe activity (talking to passengers) in an effort to prevent legislation that would clearly be detrimental to their industry goals. After all, no one is seriously considering banning talking in the family car.
Lest someone accuse me of hypocrisy, I have said that government does not exist to save you from yourself, but they do have a responsibility for protecting me from you. When actions in which you engage directly impact my rights, government has an obligation to enact legislation that minimizes your chance of “success” and punishes you if you do “succeed,” ridiculous links to other activities notwithstanding.
We certainly don’t need a study to tell us that phone usage is the problem. A quick drive around town will suffice to demonstrate that on average, users of cell phones have the worst driving habits while using the phone. Whether it is failing to signal, slowing unnecessarily, failing to yield, or blowing through stop lights, it is clear that concentration on driving is interrupted by the conversation on the phone.
Everyone has been in a car with a driver who turned down the radio while looking for a street address. It is a subconscious act brought about by the fact that we can only concentrate on one thing at a time. So what is more important, what you are having for dinner, or getting home safely to eat it?
It’s not rocket science. There was a time in the not too distant past when there were no cell phones. Somehow the world survived. Might I suggest that call can wait 20 minutes?
posted by exsubdriver at 1:22 PM
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