Get off the phone while you’re driving

Washington: Driving while talking on your cell phone could be much more dangerous than you probably think.

In their study of 40 drivers, taking 160 trips in a driving simulator, researchers at the University of Utah expected a few fender benders.

However, what they did not expect was that legally drunk test subjects would do better than drivers on cell phones.

"I think that is a fair statement. What we have found is a significant increase in accident rates when driving and conversing on a cell phone. We didn't find this increase in our studies when people were legally drunk," Professor Frank Drews of University of Utah says.

For demonstration of how the study was conducted, Professor Drews got himself in the simulator, just like his subjects and questions were asked to him as he had asked the subjects.

He said that he was hitting the brakes more slowly and that he had trouble following the flow of traffic.

When he was asked, "What's the speed limit?"

He answered, "Oh, I don't know!"

Professor Drews had nearly crashed several times because he said, "I am not doing very well."

However, there are still questions about this research, as the study used a small sample of drivers, who were barely drunk, and also because most drunk driving accidents occur with people well above the legal limit of intoxication.

A recent study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also indicated that talking on the cell phone while driving is dangerous.

They said that the crash risk is even higher for people who reach for things and they are distracted by sights along the road or overly tired.

In addition, the cell phone industry says, "Look at the real world."

"What we have seen over the last ten years is that accidents have gone down when cell phone usage has gone up by 4, 000 per cent. So if it was as sinister a behavior as people say, we thought we would see a proportionate rise in accidents and that's just not happening." John Walls of CTIA, a cell phone industry, says.

Nevertheless, Professor Drews says that with nearly one in 10 drivers using a cell phone at any given moment, his research should give lawmakers something to talk about over this busy driving weekend.

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