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25% of car crashes involve cellphones - MarketWatch
July 31, 2013, 1:58 p.m. EDT
Despite all the warnings about the dangers of talking or texting while driving, transportation experts say the situation is only getting worse.
The driver of the train that derailed in Spain, killing 79 people and injuring many others, was talking on his cellphone to an employee of the state-run train company, Renfe, according to court statements released Tuesday. Francisco José Garzón Amo reportedly picked up his cellphone to receive directions on his route before the derailment, the official statement said. The train was moving 119 mph at the timemore than twice the recommended speed on that stretch, according to the court. This kind of cellphone distraction in all modes of transport is a growing problem in the U.S. too. Its on our most-wanted list of transportation-safety improvements, says Terry Williams, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board.
Some 25% of car crashes are likely caused by cellphone use, according to a May 2013 report from the National Safety Council. Drivers using cellphones fail to see up to 50% of the information in their environment, says David Teater, senior director at the NSC. And the risk of getting in crashes from texting is getting worse, he says. Texting is increasing in popularity inside and outside of the drivers seat: One in three Americans favors texting over calling, according to a 2011 study by Pew Research Center, and Americans send an average of 41 texts a day (with those ages 19 to 25 sending an average of 110 texts a day)
I've spotted (male) police officers rolling through an intersection with one hand on the wheel and the other holding a cell phone.
What sort of penalties will prevent that 25% accident rate from increasing to 50% or more among the next generation of civilians?
Can you imagine looking at the cell phone and texting a message while speeding along at 75 mph? They do it. Mostly babes I'm afraid.
Well if there was a guarantee only those texting get hurt or killed in ensuing accidents, I'd say let the dumbbells keep right on looking at their keypads/screens while driving. Nice way to cull the herd.
They are not psychopaths. Just idiots who need to spend about 50 years in an 8x8. If you want people to take you seriously you need to dial it down a couple notches on the loon mater.
I spent some time a few years ago working as a traffic flagger on roads where the local gas and electric company was either working on the overhead electrical lines or else digging in the road to install gas pipe. I would hold up a stop sign that many times drivers would because they were preoccupied with the conversations that they were holding on their cellphones. Not stopping under these circumstances meant that they were likely to encounter traffic approaching them head on going 20 to 30 mph. I'd recommend imposing even stiffer penalties if a driver is observed talking or texting while passing through a construction zone or any zone where traffic is being managed by traffic flaggers.
