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"Supertaskers" Can Safely Use Mobile Phones While Driving
nk497 writes "While most of us are dangerous when texting, chatting on a phone or being otherwise distracted while driving, one in 40 are actually just fine with such distractions. In a small study, such 'supertaskers' were just as good at driving when carrying on a conversation over a hands-free phone as they were when fully focused. That said, the researchers warned that most people are much worse at driving while chatting and shouldn't do it, adding: 'Given the number of individuals who routinely talk on the phone while driving, one would have hoped that there would be a greater percentage of supertaskers.'"
That 1 in 40 aside, reader crimeandpunishment writes "The US Transportation Department is calling for a permanent ban on texting while driving, for interstate truck and bus drivers. An interim ban has been in place since January. The government says it is doing everything it can to make roads safer by reducing the threat of distracted drivers."
I'm just fine with the added distractions. In fact, while driving, I usually #*&&&%>...
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I wonder how many of those had a foreign driver's license.
Probably there are more supertankers than supertaskers on /.
That was how I initially read the headline for an instant.
...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
This is precisely why more forums are using catpchas.
>I'm sure I could do it
Oh the irony...
"Been driving a stick for 20 years, I spend 95% of my time when driving in the city without my hand on the wheel."
Been driving for 35yrs and I also drive a manual, after reading how good you think you are I'm pretty sure I know what your doing with your other hand.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
Been driving a stick for 20 years
Sitting on one, rather.
This is the first time I've cursed on slashdot.
Once you start, it's really fucking hard to stop.
Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
1 in 40 people who engage in these activities are not any more dangerous while doing it.
Does it mean that they normally drive as if they were constantly texting, even though they don't? Those people should be removed from roads :-)
While it is profoundly stupid to talk on the phone while navigating through a school zone crowded with students just released from school and their parents picking them up, I am not sure one can make a case that it is a net safety hazard to use a cell phone (hands-free or otherwise) driving down he freeway in the middle of nowhere. In fact, insofar as it prevents more dangerous hypnotic states from developing, it might be a net safety win to talk on the phone.
No phone necessary. All you need is an AM radio tuned to Rush Limbaugh. Love him or hate him, he will keep you awake. Me, I gotta love him and Clear Channel, because they have probably saved my life several times.
" It's important to be able to yank the impossible out of your ass on a moments notice, or you suddenly become another statistic."
I'm going to use this quote. Nice post.