If you read all of the scary stories about how distracting cell phones are to drivers, you’d probably think that our roads are becoming a more dangerous place. After all, how could they not be? The ‘safety experts’ keep telling us that talking using cell phones while driving is as dangerous than driving drunk! And [...]
Posts Tagged ‘cell phones while driving’
Surprise! Surprise! Cell phone bans don’t make the roads safer [distracted driving]
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety just finished a comprehensive study of the effectiveness of cell phone bans and the results won’t be surprising to regular readers of this blog. Cell phone bans, it turns out, have no effect on road safety and accident rates.
To repeat: The effect of bans wasn’t mild, or slight or [...]
Wireless internet while driving [GM is not dead]
The proliferation of the smart phone has dramatically increased our behind-the-wheel productivity. Now we can not only make phone calls while driving, but also text, check stock quotes and email as well.
But despite their utility, smart phones are not computers. Things like word processing, data entry and true web surfing still require the full-size screen [...]
Texting ban moves forward in Michigan
Earlier today Yesterday, the Michigan House Transportation Committee approved legislation that would make texting while driving a civil infraction in Michigan.
The State House has not yet posted the committee minutes, so it is unclear what the exact vote was on the legislation.
The bill still needs to pass the House and Senate before it can be [...]
Cell phone crackdown starts tomorrow in NYC [Revenue enhancement]
If you’ve got some speeding, drag racing, or other type of anti-social behavior you’ve wanted to engage in on New York City’s roads, tomorrow might be a good day to do it.
Why? Because the NYPD is going to is going to spend most of its energy ticketing drivers who use cell phones.
Gothamist reports the last [...]
Drivers understand that cell phones just aren’t that dangerous
Measuring the relative danger that different distractions pose to motorists is really hard. Why? Because the dangers posed by different distractions vary tremendously depending on the driver and the intensity of the distraction.
Take kids for example. Is a child sitting peacefully in the backseat likely to pose a big distraction? Probably not. But one that [...]
Is it time to ban carpooling?
It took the police almost an hour to arrive at the scene of the accident. The dark red Saturn with its crumpled front end and my 2001 VW GTI with its smashed side panels and broken rear axle had already been cleared from the road. Shattered glass and the remnants of my passenger-side mirror still littered [...]
