Egil A64.2s - S6

it is not the most distracting thing a driver can do. 'Old wife's tales' reign supreme when it comes to any excuse for a new law to protect us. We would not want research to cloud the issue - would we?

Cell phones one of many driver distractions: CAA
By Lisa Yeung May 17, 2002

If you think that chatting away on your cell phone while driving is the most distracting behaviour, think again.

New data released by CAA Ontario revealed that while many people think talking on a cell phone while driving is the most dangerous activity other behaviours, such as adjusting vehicle controls, cause more automobile accidents.

"There is a definite gap between what people perceive as posing the greatest driver distractions and the types of behaviours research shows causes more collisions," Carey-Ann Greenham, a spokeswoman for CAA Ontario, said in a statement.

More than two-thirds of 300 people surveyed by Georgian College researchers believe that talking on a cell phone while driving is the most distracting behaviour .

But things that occur outside the vehicle, adjusting the radio and talking to other people in the car were listed as the three most frequent causes of distraction-related accidents, according to research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Out of the collisions studied, 75 were related to using a cell phone.

But that doesn't mean that the CAA wants you to keep gabbing away on your cell phone while on the highway. It recommended that drivers do not use their phones while driving, and pull over to a safe spot should they need to make a call.

Even hands-free phones have a potential to cause distractions to drivers. CAA cited a 1997 University of Toronto study which concluded that it's not just the physical aspect of holding the phone that's distracting, it's the mental or cognitive component as well. The study showed that risk of collision is higher within ten minutes of ending a cell phone conversation, compared to other times.

skiracer

I'm NOT calling anyone a liar! It's just that the same statistics can be used in many ways depending on how the numbers are used and presented. In this case, the key phrase is 'But things that occur outside the vehicle, adjusting the radio and talking to other people in the car were listed as the three most frequent causes of distraction-related accidents". But this is for ALL drivers, not just for cell phone users. Since only a relatively small percentage of drivers use handheld cell phones on a regular basis (20% at most?) and every driver is influenced by "things that occur outside the vehicle, adjusting the radio......." on an almost continuous basis, then the OPPORTUNITY for these things to distract the driver occurs far more frequently. If someone really wanted to study this, then look at drivers who use cell phones as much as they use their radios, talk to other people, etc., and compare the accident rate due to distractions while talking on the phone to when not on the phone. There are so many other distractions while driving, comparing accidents due to cell phones to these far more pervasive distractions is poor science. Also, why would you intentionally add another distraction to an already hectic commute- cell phone use should be (voluntarily- NO NEW LAWS!) limited to emergency or parked use. IMHO..... ;-)

Egil A64.2s - S6

At first I was going to slam you into a snow bank skiracer but you are better at this than I :-)

skiracer

LOL! ;-)

Feuerstein

In Norway we have a law prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving. Only legal with handsfree sets.

What actually happens is that police doesn't care, and only fines those who are already pulled over for some other wrongdoing.

Personally I agree with the law, because having a hand on the phone prevents me from changing gear...

Feuerstein
Audi A6 2.5 Avant

Egil A64.2s - S6

With a manual gearshifter a phone/coffee/etc is a no no. Don't need a law to tell you that.

Feuerstein

I still see some people shift while talking, 1 hand on phone, 1 hand on gearlever and KNEE on wheel!

Egil A64.2s - S6

Oh, I'm sure they do. My point is that a new law is not necessary.