Distracted driving is the newest worry for most drivers on the road. The belief is that teen drivers are the ultimate distracted drivers, but new studies are showing exactly the opposite. Between texting, phone calls and having the internet in their hands, adults are really one of the most distracted drivers on the road. What really is the risk?
Who’s it that really drives distracted?
A recent poll from the Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that adults usually tend to be the most distracted drivers; 47 percent of adults say that they have sent text messages while driving. 52 percent of 16 and 17-year-olds use their cell phones when driving, while 75 percent of adults use their cell phones while driving. More than 40 percent of people say they are in a automobile where somebody else’s cell phone use has put them in severe danger.
Driving distracted and also the effects
Distracted driving is a bad idea known to all drivers. A recent study at the University of Utah, though, came up with some impressively scary results. Driving with a .08 blood alcohol level — the legal limit in numerous states — increases the risk of a crash by four times. Driving when texting, though, has been shown to increase the chance of a crash by up to eight times. Driving distracted is twice as dangerous as driving drunk.
Laws against distracted driving
Because of the increased risk of an accident, many states have passed laws against distracted driving. There are eight states that restrict handheld cell phones during driving; 29 states ban “novice drivers,” and 18 states ban bus drivers from using cell phones at all while driving. Thirty states have banned texting when driving. There is a complete list of cell phone bans you are able to discover on the Governors Highway Safety Association website.
Find more info here:
Pew Internet and American Life Project
pewinternet.org/
University of Utah
psych.utah.edu/lab/appliedcognition/
Governors Highway Safety Association site
ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html
