More on Cellular Phone Safety While Driving
If this doesn't make one reevaluate cell phone policies, nothing will. A study by the University of Utah concluded that drivers talking on their cellular phones are more dangerous than drunk drivers. When undergoing several driving tests, the cellular users performed worse than legally drunk drivers.
Compare:
The cell phone users - drove slightly slower (whether hands-free or not), were 9 percent slower to hit the brakes, displayed 24 percent more variation in following distance as their attention switched between driving and conversing, were 19 percent slower to resume normal speed after braking and were more likely to crash.
The legally drunk drivers (with a blood alcohol level of .08) - followed cars more closely and braked later and more forcefully than other test groups, but they did not have higher accident rates than normal drivers.
Thanks to folks at Whatnot At Work for bringing this to our attention.