Study Confirms Mobile Phones Distract Drivers

An anonymous reader notes a Reuters report of a study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, confirming that Mobile phone calls distract drivers far more than even the chattiest passenger, causing drivers to follow too closely and miss exits. California's ban on using a handheld cell phone while driving, which went into effect last summer, is looking less than fully effective. A handful of other states have instituted similar bans, but none has forbidden driving while talking on a cell phone at all. "Using a hands-free device does not make things better and the researchers believe they know why — passengers act as a second set of eyes, shutting up or sometimes even helping when they see the driver needs to make a maneuver."

Comments

First hand experience.

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Last year I was rear ended by a young lady who sheepishly got out and tried to hide the cell. She was in a hurry to get to a liquor store before it closed. Fortunately it was her second accident as a novice driver in British Columbia. Which means that she had to go back to learner status. Hopefully she learned something!