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Ten years ago a woman traveling 48 mph in the fast lane drove past three fully stopped cars and a school bus in the lane to her right and then blew through a red traffic light that had been red so long the fourth vehicle from the other direction was already in the intersection. She never even touched her brakes before broadsiding that fourth vehicle, killing a 12-year old boy. How did that happen? How could she not notice the traffic next to her at a full stop, the red light or the three cars already through the intersection? You are probably thinking she was drunk. She was not. She was stone cold sober and talking on her hands free phone.
This is my PSA (Public Service Announcement) on why you should immediately stop talking on your phone when you are driving. The scientific proof is becoming more and more compelling. Johnson & Johnson brought in a speaker from the National Safety Council who presented facts for 45 minutes. J&J is one of the few companies that has a policy banning the use of cell phones for our fleet vehicle drivers.
This is some of what I learned:
1. You are four times more likely to get hurt in a crash while talking on your cell.
2. There is NO DIFFERENCE in the number of crashes between hand-held and hands-free!!
3. Cell phone drivers have more crashes and slower reaction times than drunk drivers (0.08)!
4. It is estimated that 26% of all crashes involve cell phones.
What’s going on? Well, people think if their eyes are on the road and their hands are on the wheel, they are safe. Cognitive psychologists disagree. Your mind must also be engaged and your brain fools you. Most of us think we can multi-task and that it’s no different than driving with a passenger in the car. This is simply not so. If you are on the phone, your mind is not fully engaged in driving. Here’s the explanation for how that woman driver broadsided a car that should have been obvious to her:
Cognitive distraction results in two forms of visual distraction:
1. Inattention blindness – You are looking ahead at something but don’t see it at all. This is born out in simulators all the time. (She didn’t see the red traffic light, nor three other cars going through the intersection.) Most cell phone crashes are people on their phone hitting something directly in front of them.
2. Tunnel vision – You stop scanning the road and actively identifying potential hazards. (Her visual field was so small, she didn’t even see the three stopped cars and a school bus on her right.)
In the last 10 years, we have seen the arrival of airbags, 87% seat belt use, stability controlled cars, anti-lock brakes, cross over barrier, rumble strips and graduated driver licenses…so many safety improvements for drivers. Yet the fatality rate is holding steady at 100 people per day. What if every day this week an airplane crashed somewhere in the country killing 100 people? We’d never stand for that. A Quinnipiac survey showed that 63% of voters support a ban on cell phone use while driving, even hands-free.
Please don’t wait for a law. Stay off the phone when you are driving!
This is my PSA (Public Service Announcement) on why you should immediately stop talking on your phone when you are driving. The scientific proof is becoming more and more compelling. Johnson & Johnson brought in a speaker from the National Safety Council who presented facts for 45 minutes. J&J is one of the few companies that has a policy banning the use of cell phones for our fleet vehicle drivers.
This is some of what I learned:
1. You are four times more likely to get hurt in a crash while talking on your cell.
2. There is NO DIFFERENCE in the number of crashes between hand-held and hands-free!!
3. Cell phone drivers have more crashes and slower reaction times than drunk drivers (0.08)!
4. It is estimated that 26% of all crashes involve cell phones.
What’s going on? Well, people think if their eyes are on the road and their hands are on the wheel, they are safe. Cognitive psychologists disagree. Your mind must also be engaged and your brain fools you. Most of us think we can multi-task and that it’s no different than driving with a passenger in the car. This is simply not so. If you are on the phone, your mind is not fully engaged in driving. Here’s the explanation for how that woman driver broadsided a car that should have been obvious to her:
Cognitive distraction results in two forms of visual distraction:
1. Inattention blindness – You are looking ahead at something but don’t see it at all. This is born out in simulators all the time. (She didn’t see the red traffic light, nor three other cars going through the intersection.) Most cell phone crashes are people on their phone hitting something directly in front of them.
2. Tunnel vision – You stop scanning the road and actively identifying potential hazards. (Her visual field was so small, she didn’t even see the three stopped cars and a school bus on her right.)
In the last 10 years, we have seen the arrival of airbags, 87% seat belt use, stability controlled cars, anti-lock brakes, cross over barrier, rumble strips and graduated driver licenses…so many safety improvements for drivers. Yet the fatality rate is holding steady at 100 people per day. What if every day this week an airplane crashed somewhere in the country killing 100 people? We’d never stand for that. A Quinnipiac survey showed that 63% of voters support a ban on cell phone use while driving, even hands-free.
Please don’t wait for a law. Stay off the phone when you are driving!