Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
Metalworking (rec.crafts.metalworking) Discuss various aspects of working with metal, such as machining, welding, metal joining, screwing, casting, hardening/tempering, blacksmithing/forging, spinning and hammer work, sheet metal work. |
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Cell Phones And People
You may find this interesting.
In my opinion, a federal ban could not come too soon. TMT Cell Phones Are Found to Pose Riskiest Distractions for Drivers The Wall Street Journal Online By Karen Lundegaard and Jesse Drucker Among the many distractions faced by car drivers, cellphones and other wireless devices contributed to far and away the most crashes, near-crashes and other incidents, according to a new government study expected to be released next week. The yearlong study, which tracked 100 cars and their drivers by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, highlights the danger of talking on cellphones. The results come as Connecticut last week passed a law banning the use of hand-held phones while driving. Several other states are considering similar legislation. But even as safety concerns have led several states and local jurisdictions to ban drivers from using hand-held phones, some 40% of cellphone use still takes place while driving. The Virginia Tech study contains some findings first reported in a page-one article in The Wall Street Journal last July. At the time, NHTSA and Transportation Department officials said they were holding off on making recommendations to state officials until they had further research on the issue, including this long-awaited study, which looks at all crash causes, not just cellphones. Rae Tyson, a spokesman for NHTSA, said the new research further reinforces the dangers of cellphones, but the agency is limited as to what it can do on regulations. And while it makes policy recommendations on traffic-safety issues such as drunken driving and seat belts, "it's an entirely different issue when you're talking about electronic devices that we have no regulatory authority over at all." While it can't lobby state governments, NHTSA is free to make recommendations when asked. The latest study could be bad news for the cellular industry, as it may undermine two of the main arguments carriers have used against restrictions on cellphone use for drivers. Many carriers have contended that cellphone-centered restrictions are unfair and ineffective since drivers are distracted by numerous things. Plus, the industry has criticized previous research based on surveys or sophisticated driving simulators. But the Virginia Tech study videotaped 100 cars and their drivers for a year for two million miles and 43,000 hours, and found that drivers involved in crashes, near crashes and incidents -- defined as an evasive maneuver, though not as urgent as a near-crash -- were far more likely to be using their wireless device as any other single distracting activity. Wireless devices contributed to 644 events, including six crashes. The majority of those occurrences, including all the crashes, happened while drivers were on the phone talking and listening, rather than dialing a phone number. The next-biggest distraction, with 411 crashes, near-misses and other incidents, came from "passenger-related" issues, including talking to a fellow passenger and placating children in rear seats. "Acknowledging that cellphone use in a car can be a potential distraction ... we've been very clear on that," said a spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, the industry's main trade group. "At the same time, cellphone use is one of what appears to be a number of behaviors in there." He added: "It's certainly not in line with what a number of other studies have found. The fact it is so way out of line would give me some pause." Another NHTSA study that looked at driving and phone usage, presented at a traffic-safety conference last week, raises further questions about the added safety benefits of using headsets and other "hands free" devices. Researchers had 10 participants drive vehicles for six weeks with three different types of phones: hand-held, hands-free headsets and hands-free phones with voice dialing. The voice dialing was so unpopular that drivers ignored instructions to always use it and dialed manually half the time. Hand-held dialing took less time. NHTSA researchers noted that the promise that hands-free phones let drivers keep both hands on the wheel may not be true: Drivers steered with both hands on the wheel only 13% of the time when not on the phone and between 13% and 16% with a hands-free device. With hand-held phones both hands were on the wheel less than 1% of time. The researchers also found drivers looked at the road ahead less while dialing manually (40% of time) than hands-free dialing (50%). That compares with 70% of time looking ahead in driving without talking on a cellphone. While talking, drivers became less aware of their surrounding situation -- instead looking straight ahead most of the time (90% of time for hand-held phones and 77% for hands-free phones, compared with 70% in normal driving). Despite a growing body of research questioning the added safety of hands-free devices, many states continue to ban hand-held phones for drivers, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, as well as Washington, D.C. |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Speedfit technique | UK diy | |||
SELL this FBI NOC LIST and MAKE MILLIONS like TOM CRUISE did in MISSION IMPOSSIBLE | Woodworking | |||
A challenge for old house lovers | UK diy | |||
Cell Phone | Electronics | |||
OT - Man angry at Verizon hurls phones | Woodworking |