Understanding the Distracted Brain

“Understanding the Distracted Brain, Why Driving While Using Hands-Free Cell phones is Risky Behavior” was published this month by the National Safety Council.

A few mentionable highlights from the paper are provided in this paragraph. Do the math; there are approximately 280 million wireless subscribers in the United States, 11% of all drivers at any given time are using cell phones, more than 1 in 4 crashes occur while a driver is talking on a cell phone. These are staggering figures.

This white paper also contained an overview of a personal tragedy. In January 2004, at 4:00 p.m., in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a 20-year-old woman ran a red light while talking on a cell phone. The driver’s vehicle slammed into another vehicle crossing with the green light directly in front of her. The vehicle she hit was not the first car through the intersection, it was the third or fourth. The police investigation determined the driver never touched her brakes and was traveling 48 mph when she hit the other vehicle. The crash cost the life of a 12-year-old boy. Witnesses told investigators that the driver was not looking down, not dialing the phone, or texting. She was observed looking straight out the windshield talking on her cell phone as she sped past four cars and a school bus stopped in the other south bound lane of traffic. Researchers have called this crash a classic case of inattention blindness caused by the cognitive distraction of a cell phone conversation. The driver responsible for the above crash was on the phone with her church where she volunteered with children the age of the young boy who lost his life as the result of her phone call. She pled guilty to negligent homicide and the lives of two families were terribly and permanently altered. Countless numbers of similar crashes continue everyday.

To learn more visit the National Safety Council Web site...