Hazard: Phone-Using Drivers Slow Traffic

Students In Driving Simulators Drove 2-3 Percent Slower When Yakking On Phone, Study Says

(AP)  Drivers talking on cell phones are probably making your commute even longer, concludes a new study.

Motorists yakking away, even with handsfree devices, crawl about 2 mph slower on commuter-clogged roads than people not on the phone, and they just don't keep up with the flow of traffic, said study author David Strayer, a psychology professor at the University of Utah.

If you commute by car an hour a day, it could all add around 20 hours a year to your commute, Strayer said.

"The distracted driver tends to drive slower and have delayed reactions," said Strayer, whose study will be presented later this month to the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. "People kind of get stuck behind that person and it makes everyone pay the price of that distracted driver."

Strayer's study, based on three dozen students driving in simulators, found that drivers on cell phones are far more likely to stick behind a slow car in front of them and change lanes about 20 percent less often than drivers not on the phone.

Overall, cell phone drivers took about 3 percent longer to drive the same highly traffic-clogged route (and about 2 percent longer to drive a medium congested route) than people who were not on the phone. About one in 10 drivers is on the phone so it really adds up, said Strayer, whose earlier studies have found slower reaction times from drivers on the phones and compared those reaction times to people legally drunk.

Combine those factors and Strayer figures distracted drivers are adding an extra 5 to 10 percent of time to your commute.

It's simply a matter of brain overload. Your frontal cortex can handle only so many tasks at one time, so you slow down, Strayer said.

Generally the study makes sense, but what happens to students in a simulator may not translate to real world conditions, said Anne McCartt, senior vice president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Further, she said the study itself points out how distracted drivers are slower, but is short on calculations on just how it affects other drivers.

Wireless phone companies encourage people not to talk on the phone in bad traffic, said Joe Farren, a spokesman for the cellular phone industry's trade association. But he said he couldn't comment on the study because he had not had a chance to go over it.

[michellem99-2009]

Gramma, My vet room mate goes to the VAMC and hoshital put a cell jammer in hospital so they can''t be use. He went out door and he could call me using his cell. He tried to call me when was in the hospital building..It jammed the singal. It was dead while in the building. They can put a jammer in cars when it is moving yer can''t yak on it while yer driving. But really yer should know better.

[grammawhamma]

Someone should invent a device that once your car is running your cell phone reception stops. You need to make a call...pull over and turn off your engine. Only 911 calls should still be able to work however.

[rushman71]

SgtRDS: I agree with you. Hope they are planning to do the same here in Texas.

[formrusmcsgt]

I''''m not making any comments about whether men or women use "hell-phones" more because stupidity is gender-blind.

Posted by JayKay3141 at 07:40 PM : Jan 03, 2008

I agree that both sexes do it, but I have done a small study on the matter counting the drivers i see on phones on the way to and from work on about a half dozen occassions.... 4 women to 1 man, on average.

[jaykay3141]

I''m not making any comments about whether men or women use "hell-phones" more because stupidity is gender-blind. Just ban the $%@* things! If you''re caught using one, on the first offense it gets confiscated. The second time, it goes under the officer''s foot. That simple.

In the last couple of years I''ve had five close calls due to boneheads who think their conversation is somehow more important than the safety of other drivers. When I yelled at one of these stupid cows in a Suburban Useless Vehicle she claimed it was her "right" to yak as much as she wanted. Yo!? You''ve got a right to be irresponsible only when it hurts no one else. When you risk an accident it''s actionable negligence and nothing else.

I don''t phone and drive, read and drive, eat and drive, or drink and drive. I''ve accumulated over a half-million miles in 4 countries with exactly ONE chargeable accident, and that was when I was a novice teenage driver. It IS possible to drive safely!

[formrusmcsgt]

I actually saw a woman this morning who was NOT on a cellphone while driving. I couldn''t believe my eyes.

[gunownerdan]

Anyone who drives while talking on a cell phone deserves any name you want to call them, especially if they are causing or almost causing accidents!

[whatsup49]

gunownerdan: you''re a real work of human. . . do you feel more powerful and manly using those words to describe women? do you feel intelligent using those words? If you can''t find other words to use, then you''re just ignorant

[gunownerdan]

Onstar has made the cell phone obsolete in my opinion.

[sgtrds]

Soon the new law will go into effect here in California making it illegal to talk on a hand held cell phone while driving and it''s LONG overdue! There is an exemption for emergencies, of course, but IMHO the fine should start at $1000.00 for a first offense then 6 months community service for the 2nd.

[michellem99-2009]

Amen..Yer want my list.
NO YAKING ON THE CELL WHILE YE DRIVE,
NO PLAYING YE MUSIC WHILE YE DRIVE,
NO EATING.DRINKING POP THE LIKE WHILE YE DRIVE
NO MULTI TASK WHILE YE DRIVE.
YES DRIVE WITH YER FULL ATTN ON THE OF DRIVING,
BE AWARE OF OTHERS AS YE DRIVE.
KNOW THE WHITE CANE LAW.
IF YE MUST DO.
PULL OFF THE ROAD TO DO
TALK ON CELL/TEXT/USE COMPUTER.
EAT,
ATTEND CHILDREN''S NEEDS
THE LIKE.
I RIDE THE BUS.

[Syndicate]

How does talking on the phone equate to talking to some one next to you in the passenger seat? Other than holding the device and struggling to hear through its tiny speaker is there a differance? Will the government soon require all passengers be gagged? Truth be known I hate cell phones, but seriously is talking on phone diffrent than talking to the person next to you? from a saftey point of view.

[neenga]

I am a woman and do not talk on my cell phone while drivine OR walking.

Next time you hear someone having a loud personal conversation in public, respond to what they are saying. Phone addict: "Like, I like just like couldn''t like belieeeeeeve what she did, can you, like?" Me: "No, I cannot, and furthermore, if you want me to beat her azz, gimme her address and I''ll hunt her down!"

You should see the look on their faces when you do this. And they lower the volume immediately.

[omega39-2009]

Usually tiny women in huge SUV''''s clueless to the traffic problems they are causing. Lets make it illeagal to talk and drive!!!

Posted by fstop100

and the bigger the SUV, the smaller the phone, the correlation is undeniable. By the time they start driving Hummers, their phones are no bigger than an asprin.

[fstop100]

Usually tiny women in huge SUV''s clueless to the traffic problems they are causing. Lets make it illeagal to talk and drive!!!

[rushman71]

gunownerdan: Well said. You took the words out of my mouth. There are certain reasons why using the phone while driving should remain permited. But having casual conversations while behind the wheel is just like playing Russian roulette. If you think about it, sometimes when you talk on the phone, the conversation goes so deep that you see the pictures of what you are talking about within your mind, but not out of your eyes. Now imagine the same thing while you are behind the wheel. That''s practically the reason behind most of the accidents caused by people on their cell phones. People, don''t talk and drive!!!

[cepe10-2009]

Using the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety as rebuttal is comical...

"wholly supported by auto insurers"

They should really be called the institute for gridlock and higher insurance company profits...

[cepe10-2009]

Bravo! very good study! now if we can get law enforcement to actually enforce the law and ticket impeder''s...

[tomanyt]

I''ve seen cops driving down the interstate, in the left lane, yakking on a cell phone. However, cell phones are not the only problem. I see people combing their hair, eating there delicious breakfast from McDonalds, reading the paper, reading a book, digging in a bag or purse. The list goes on. Please pay attention when driving. You only get one life to live.

[Krazcarl]

We''ve all been stuck by these idiots the funny thing is that it''s mostly women....