Posted on 03/12/2003 6:24:32 AM PST by Isara
Cell Phones Rank Sixth on List of Causes of Accidents
March 7, 2003 -- Chatting on a cell phone while driving may have gotten a bad rap in recent years as a common cause of car crashes, but a new study shows cell phones can't hold a candle to good, old-fashioned rubbernecking when it comes to causing a highway pile up.
In one of the largest studies to date on crashes involving distracted drivers, researchers found looking at other accidents, traffic, or roadside incidents caused the largest number of accidents, while cell phone use ranked only sixth.
The study was based on data collected by Virginia state troopers on more than 2,700 crashes involving distracted drivers between June and November 2002.
Researchers found that of all the crashes reported, 98% involved a single distracted driver.
"We've known for years that drivers contribute more to causing crashes than the vehicle or the roadway," says Robert Breitenbach, director of the Transportation Safety Training Center at Virginia Commonwealth University, in a news release. "In many instances the driver error involves not paying attention to the driving task. We can now identify those distractions with some confidence."
Rubbernecking was responsible for the largest number of accidents reported (16%) followed by driver fatigue (12%), looking at scenery or landmarks (10%), passenger or child distractions (9%), adjusting the radio, tape, or CD player (7%), and cell phone use (5%).
Overall, various distractions inside the vehicle accounted for 62% of the distractions reported. Distractions that came from outside the vehicle accounted for 35% of all distractions, and 3% of the distractions were undetermined.
Nearly two-thirds of the crashes in the study occurred in rural areas and were often caused by driver fatigue, insects entering or striking the vehicle, or animals and unrestrained pet distractions.
Automobile accidents caused by distracted drivers in urban areas tended to be the result of drivers looking at other crashes, traffic, or vehicles or cell phone use.
Researcher James M. Ellis of Virginia Commonwealth University says the findings should apply to other regions of the U.S. because the areas studied contained a representative mix of rural and urban counties, a diverse ethnic population, and varying road conditions and types.
SOURCES: "Pilot Study of Distracted Drivers," prepared for the Transportation and Safety Training Center, Center for Public Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University, January 2003. News release, Virginia Commonwealth University.
© 2003 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.
DUH!
If you are capable of using a cellphone and driving at the same time, that should be enough. It's up to the driver to make the judgement and to pay any consequences. The special laws are a slippery slope. What next, a law against driving if you did not get enough sleep (insomnia)? How about outlawing a stereo in automobiles? How about outlawing CB's in semi-trucks? (incidentally, most truck craashes are caused by the cars surrounding them and not the trucks themselves)
Once again, we blame the object (cell phone, hand gun) instead of the person responsible for the event (crash, getting shot).
Maybe we should outlaw women wearing suggestive clothing within sight of a roadway lest a fellow turn his head and get into an accident. Maybe women should wear burkas (sp?). After all, this kind of distraction can be larger than a cellphone ;-)
But I know from experience that the absolute worst distraction is an unruly child in the car. Cellphone conversation? Nothing compared to a screaming kid.
2. The laws against cell phone use in a car are idiotic because there is no reason to distinguish between a driver using a cell phone and a driver eating a sandwich or applying makeup at a traffic light. Many states may already have a law on the books requiring drivers to keep both hands on the steering wheel at all times. This was why the New Jersey State Police were able to initiate their campaign against aggressive driving a couple of years ago -- any motorist who "flipped the bird" to the driver of the unmarked police cars that were used in this effort was immediately pulled over and cited for violating that statute.
I saw worse. She was applying her makeup while driving slowly on a highway.
You can't make this stuff up.
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