Distracted Driving Myths and Facts

Most people realize that texting and driving is risky behavior. But many people still admit to doing it on a regular basis, according to the NSC about 1 in 3 driving do. Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent of driving blind at 55-mph for the length of an entire football field, according to a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

The Great Multitasking Lie

Texting is an obvious danger while driving, but what about simply holding a conversation, hands-free, while driving? Studies show that hands-free devices offer no more improvement on your judgment or awareness as you drive. Here are some statistics that may make you put the phone and the headset (or BlueTooth) down. 

Whether it’s handheld or hands-free the risks are still the same, because BOTH talking and driving are THINKING tasks. You need to concentrate on each, which is why you cannot do both at the same time, without one or the other suffering. And when your driving is impaired, it can be deadly. 

According to a study conducted by Carnegie Mellon University, the part of your brain that processes images and movements is impaired by 37% when you are listening to spoken sentences (depicted in brain on the right.)

In addition, drivers talking on their cell phones can miss 50% of their surroundings, like stop signs or pedestrians! This is often called “inattentive blindness,” where a driver is looking, but doesn't actually see, process and react appropriately.

Talking on a cell phone while driving is NOT the same as having a conversation with another adult in the vehicle. In stark contrast, another adult is another set of eyes and ears paying attention to the road. Passengers of driving age tend to adjust their speech when the traffic conditions are challenging. When you are speaking on a cell phone, the other side of the conversation cannot gauge what your surroundings are like, and in turn cannot adjust the conversation appropriately. 

One of the most startling revelations is that drivers talking on a cell phone had a SLOWER reaction time than drivers with a blood alcohol content of .08, which is the legal limit, according to a simulation study by the University of Utah. But there is a simple solution to this problem, which drunk drivers do not have. Hang up the phone.

There is also significant evidence that there is a dramatic under-reporting of cell phone use when trying to gather data on this epidemic. It makes this safety threat appear much less substantial than it actually may be. The National Safety Council estimates that 25% of all crashes involve some sort of cell phone use, 21% from talking on a cell phone and 4% attributed to texting. But it may not be possible to acquire accurate data, even if 100% of known crashes were recorded, which would require everyone to admit to talking or texting while driving when it caused a crash.


According to the NSC, there are three types of knowledge about crashes that involve cell phone use.
1. Known - Driver admitted to cell phone use.
2. Suspected - Driver did not admit to cell phone use, but evidence like reaction time, clear sight lines, and no skid marks indicate the driver should have  had ample time to react in order to avoid an accident.
3. Unknown - A single crash in which the driver is killed, with no witnesses or passengers, there is no physical evidence that the driver may have been checking an email or a text.

Source information: 
National Security Council Cell Phone Crash Data:
http://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Distracted_Driving/Pages/Cell-Phone-Crash-Data.aspx

Official US Government Website for Distracted Driving: 
http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/index.html

National Security Council Hands-Free Mythbusting Facts:
http://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Distracted_Driving/Documents/DDAM%202014/900004090_2014%20DDAM%20Public%20Fact%20Sheet_FNL.pdf

National Security Council Multitasking Lies:
http://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Distracted_Driving/Pages/The-Great-Multitasking-Lie.aspx