So, the facts are in … driving and talking and, even, listening on your cellphone is as dangerous as driving drunk …
In this front page report in The New York Times, “U.S. Withheld Data on Cellphone Driving Risks,” you shouldn’t be surprised at how dangerous it is to talk/listen and drive/multi-task with your trusted phone device.
I pause to think about how many times I’ve been distracted … or been miffed to see my cabdriver distracted … or watched my son or husband be distracted … obviously, plain stupid! And, while thoroughly disgusted with the point of the Times’ story (get annoyed once again with how thing don’t work in Washington), snoety wants to point out the dangers so YOU STOP driving and multi-tasking with a cellphone!
DANGER!:
“…cellphone use by drivers caused around 955 fatalities and 240,000 accidents over all in 2002.”
“…hands-free headsets did not eliminate the serious accident risk. The reason: a cellphone conversation itself, not just holding the phone, takes drivers’ focus off the road …”
” … motorists talking on a phone are four times as likely to crash as other drivers, and are as likely to cause an accident as someone with a .08 blood alcohol content.”
” … drivers using a hand-held device were at 1.3 times greater risk of a crash or near crash, and at 3 times the risk when dialing compared with other drivers …
Go to nytimes.com/technology for confidential research reports prepared by the Transportation Department.
Still not worried? Try this quiz: “Gauging your Distraction” from nytimes.com that “… measures how your reaction time is affected by external distractions. BTW: Regardless of your results (this is, after all an online game) experts say, you should not attempt to text when driving.”
SNOETY Says: STOP DRIVING WITH A CELLPHONE!
Harriett@snoety.com
