New research shows that cell phone driving is even more dangerous than experts realized.
Fact: When drivers talk on a cell phone, they’re as impaired as intoxicated drivers with a .08 blood-alcohol level. [1]
Fact: Cell phone talkers are a half second slower to hit the brakes in emergencies, and they miss more than half of the visual cues spotted by attentive drivers. [2]
Texting while driving represents the greatest
threat.
We need stronger laws to address these growing dangers.
Fact: 97% of Seattle drivers already know there’s a law banning handheld cell phone use by drivers, and yet the law has had little effect on behavior. [5]
Fact: Two out of three teens admit to texting while driving. [6]
§ Fact:
Bans
on cell phone use by drivers can be effective—when backed by primary
enforcement. In DC, the rate of cell phone driving is 43% lower than would be
expected without a ban. In CA, it is 58% lower. In CT, it is 65% lower.
[1] Source: David L. Strayer, Frank A. Drews, and Dennis J.
Crouch, University of Utah
[2] Source: John Medina, University of Washington School of Medicine, and author
of Brain Rules
[3] Source: Matt Richtel, “Utah Gets Tough With Texting Drivers,” New York Times
[4] Ibid.
[5] Source: EMC
Research and Seattle Department of Transportation
[6] Source: Allstate Foundation’s
State of Teen Driving Survey, 2009