Study: Distraction Behind Most Car Crashes

[RedEarth]

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - Those sleep-deprived, multitasking drivers - clutching cell phones, fiddling with their radios or applying lipstick - apparently are involved in an awful lot of crashes.

Distracted drivers were involved in nearly eight out of 10 collisions or near-crashes, says a study released Thursday by the government. Researchers reviewed thousands of hours of video and data from sensor monitors linked to more than 200 drivers, and pinpointed examples of what keeps drivers from paying close attention to the road.

"We see people on the roadways talking on the phone, checking their stocks, checking scores, fussing with their MP3 players, reading e-mails, all while driving 40, 50, 60, 70 miles per hour and sometimes even faster," said Jacqueline Glassman, acting administrator of the government's highway safety agency.

A driver's reaching for a moving object increased the risk of a crash or potential collision by nine times, according to researchers at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. They found that the risk of a crash increases almost threefold when a driver is dialing a cell phone.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060420/D8H3VH0O0.html

[SmokingJacket]

1. I believe it.

I don't use the phone or any of that when I'm driving, but my kids in the back seat are *very* distracting --

and you know, at 80 mph, just being a second or two off-task can fling you into the oncoming lane...

[rkc3]

2. In related news, cockpit voice recorders installed by NHTSA in

late model SUVs indicate the most common noise heard prior to accidents was "Oh shit!"

The southeast was slightly different Recordings from 72% of crashes can be summed up as "Cletus, hold my beer and watch this."

[windy252]

7. I shouldn't

but I laughed at that. :rofl:

[CAcyclist]

3. Clearly speeding is also a factor nt

[A HERETIC I AM]

9. DISPARITY in speed is a larger factor.

Speeding in and of itself is not inherently dangerous. The danger comes in, on highways certainly, when a faster driver comes up on a slow one and is forced to make a lane change. Americans have dismally bad "Lane Discipline", that is to say, they don't follow the "Keep right except to pass" rule.

In Germany and most of Europe it is a larger fine to pass someone on the right than it is to break a speed law. (on edit to say "or so i am told") Drivers over there have excellent lane discipline. They stay the hell to the right.

Studies such as the one cited by the OP sometimes do not tell the entire story of traffic fatalities. I read a study that demonstrated that better that 60% of fatalities occur in speed zones of 45 MPH or less meaning city streets.

Speed doesnt kill. Dipshits driving beyond their abilities and folks that wont stay right do.

[CAcyclist]

24. Speeding in and of itself is a danger

It's the stopping times and reaction times you have to consider. Force equals mass times acceleration. Hit a pedestrian with a car traveling less than 25 mph and that person will not likely die and may not even be seriously injured. Hit a pedestrian going 45 mph - that pedestrian is dead.

Most cars and almost all pedestrians and cyclists are on streets that go less than 45 mph and almost all cross-traffic occurs on streets that go less than 45 mph, so when you consider that, the cause and effect changes.

On the other hand, maybe this study can be used to argue that when people say "I didn't see that - cyclist, pedestrian, whatever - that I just smushed with my car" that they are really saying "I was distracted and not paying attention", instead of the get out of jail free card that it is now.

edited to say that you are right - disparity is an issue, but the problem is that when setting speeds, engineer never consider cross-traffic which should be considered as zero speed or pedestrians which should be counted as 3 mph speeds or bicyclists who rarely travel faster than 10 mph - they only ever count car traffic and, in California, we have the 85 percentile rule which sets speeds at the level that 85% of traffic is driving, never mind the bikes and peds and cross-traffic that isn't counted. So you in a sense have criminals setting the law. So you will always have extreme disparity on surface streets.

[napi21]

4. I heard that this AM. I'm firmly convinced this is a much more serious

problem that causes car crashes than DUI's. The other thing they mentioned thes AM was drowsy drivers.

The big problem is that there's no test to prove someone was distracted or sleepy!

[Yatar]

5. But how does one get good statistics on this?

N/T

[TrogL]

6. I won't allow any distractions while I'm driving

I know I'm getting older and my reaction time is slower, so I won't let people talk to me (or even each other if it's loud), block mirrors, do distracting things like shuffle papers.

I also use the cruise control almost constantly so I don't have to keep an eye on the speedometer.

[sam sarrha]

8. it really isn't the cell phone, its often just talking.>60mph = 88feet/sec

[shanti]

10. hmmm, what about INEXPERIENCE?

i know very few parents of teen (drivers) whose kids haven't had at least one collision. at 18, i was a victim myself, and one of my sons was too...and we didn't have cd players or cellphones back then either.

[SlipperySlope]

11. I don't read DU and drive at the same time.

Good thing, huh?

[populistdriven]

12. I think we should ban all radios in cars

[BlueIris]

13. Um, no shit? AMERICA: LEARN TO DRIVE OR PARK IT PERMANENTLY.

Selfish asshole fuckwits. We all have to share the road. When handled improperly, a car is a lethal weapon. If you won't think of yourself, think of all the people you endanger when you drive without your full attention on the task at hand. LAZINESS KILLS. I don't know how the country's bad drivers sleep at night.

[Daphne08]

14. Arrogance on the highway! I live in Southern California

(have been here four years) and I've never seen such arrogant drivers in my life.

Too many people act as if they were the only ones on the freeway. I also believe many of them are of the "it can't happen to me" mindset.

[kurth]

15. Nah. Everyone just get more airbags

front, side, rear, top, bottom.

Double bag it, and we'll be fine.

[fshrink]

16. Man! I'd never thought of that.

Waiting for a study that really shows that fatigue behind most sleep hours.

[Dulcinea]

17. Talking on cellphones while driving should be BANNED!

I can't wait for the day that talking on the phone while driving is finally considered just as dangerous as driving drunk. Because it is! The penalties should be the same, too!

[raccoon]

19. I agree. And it isn't just speed.

You see people all the time, in HEAVY TRAFFIC, yakking on the cell phone.

[rkc3]

20. Mythbusters and and 20/20 (or 60 Min) both did similar tests and showed

very little difference in reaction times between being drunk and talking on the cell phone. Mythbusters was somewhat humorous, but 20/20 or 60 Minutes showed the driving habits of real people and put them on the test track.

One woman completely destroyed a cardboard car the backed out into the street (she was reading while driving) - it didn't phase her one bit.

[PassingFair]

18. Now where did I put my DUH!!! file.....

Did someone SPEND MONEY on this?

[sofa king]

21. Do blow jobs count as distractions?

If that's the case, I'm in dire need of a distraction.

[lutefisk]

22. But how would you see over the dash?.......n/t

n/t

[toopers]

23. Good one!

[sofa king]

25. Oh, snap!

herbster, I'm filing that one away for later use. Thanks for the laugh.