On 2012-05-09, at 1:33 PM, Jordan Hayes wrote:
> ...there has been a dramatic decrease in crashes (and thus injury/death) due to DUI in the past 20 years; in many places DUI has been replaced by driving-while-drowsy as the number one cause of accidents.
And other "influences" apart from drink:
Cell phones as dangerous as drunk driving by Erica Ogg CNET July 1, 2006
Is having a cell phone pressed to your ear while behind the wheel the equivalent of driving while intoxicated? According to a study by University of Utah psychologists, the answer is, unfortunately, yes.
"Just like you put yourself and other people at risk when you drive drunk, you put yourself and others at risk when you use a cell phone and drive," writes David Strayer, a psychology professor and the study's lead author. "The level of impairment is very similar."
The study, published in the June 29 issue of Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, found that drivers talking on cell phones, either handheld or hands-free, are more likely to crash because they are distracted by conversation.
Using a driving simulator under four different conditions: with no distractions, using a handheld cell phone, talking on a hands-free cell phone, and while intoxicated to the 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level, 40 participants followed a simulated pace car that braked intermittently.
Researchers found that the drivers on cell phones drove more slowly, braked more slowly and were more likely to crash. In fact, the three participants who collided into the pace car were chatting away. None of the drunken drivers crashed.
"This study does not mean people should start driving drunk," said co-author Frank Drews. "It means that driving while talking on a cell phone is as bad as or maybe worse than driving drunk, which is completely unacceptable and cannot be tolerated by society."
Preliminary results from the study were announced three years ago.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-6090342-7.html
Expensive takeout: Chicken-munching Ottawa man faces careless driving charge, $490 By Meghan Hurley The Ottawa Citizen May 9, 2012
OTTAWA — A supper on the run could cost an Ottawa man $490 after he was caught eating rotisserie chicken out of a white China bowl Tuesday evening while using his knees to steer his vehicle as he sped down the Queensway.
Late for a meeting, the man sped eastbound, passing an unmarked Ontario Provincial Police car on the right around 6 p.m.
Police said the man’s vehicle swerved out of his lane a few times; he followed another vehicle too closely and made a lane change without signalling.
Michael Gibson, 58, was charged with careless driving, for which the fine is $490.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/News/Ottawa/6592231/story.html
Texting And Driving Worse Than Drinking and Driving By Phil LeBeau CNBC June 25 2009
Admit it.
You've done it.
You've been driving down the side street (and yes, the highway as well) when your phone, blackberry, or whatever you use to call and text with goes off.
You immediately grab it, even though you are driving in traffic and really shouldn't.
It's a dangerous and terrible habit American drivers have developed.
The folks at Car and Driver Magazine have now documented just dangerous it can be.
Rigging a car with a red light to alert drivers when to brake, the magazine tested how long it takes to hit the brake when sober, when legally drunk at .08, when reading and e-mail, and when sending a text. The results are scary. Driving 70 miles per hour on a deserted air strip Car and Driver editor Eddie Alterman was slower and slower reacting and braking when e-mailing and texting.
The results:
• Unimpaired: .54 seconds to brake
• Legally drunk: add 4 feet
• Reading e-mail: add 36 feet
• Sending a text: add 70 feet
When I took the test for reading e-mail or texting, I was just as slow to react. On average, it took me four times longer to hit the brake. Mike Austin at Car and Driver told me in blunt terms that I was "way worse" than the average driver.
None of this should surprise you.
Sure, the headline about texting and driving being more dangerous than drinking and driving got your attention.
Maybe that's because the American public correctly views drinking and driving as wrong. But when it comes to texting and driving, we are not as outraged.
Probably because many of us have done it and still do it (even though it's banned in 14 states).
Sadly, it will likely take more accidents and more deaths to change that attitude. There are countless stories of teens dying in accidents because the driver was texting while driving.
Unfortunately, I fear there will be more. Too many people have become too accustomed to checking e-mail or sending a text while behind the wheel, even though it's as dangerous as drinking and driving.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/31545004/Texting_And_Driving_Worse_Than_Drinking_and_Driving