Obvious study of the day: Gadgets tied to 25 percent of car crashes - Polidicks

[release][h2]Gadgets tied to 25 percent of car crashes: report[/h2] [url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43674825/ns/technology_and_science-wireless/t/gadgets-tied-percent-car-crashes-report/]//Source: MSNBC[/url] ______________________________ [img]http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/reuters/2011-07-07t155632z_01_btre76615kz00_rtroptp_3_ces.grid-6x2.jpg[/img] [i]Kumar Chinnaswamy texts on a mobile phone while driving in a simulator at the LG booth during the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 7, 2010.[/i] WASHINGTON — Driving distractions, primarily by cellphones and other electronic devices, are associated with up to 25 percent of U.S. car crashes, according to a report released on Thursday. The study by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), a nonprofit group that works to improve traffic safety, assessed research from more than 350 scientific papers published since 2000. It showed that drivers are distracted up to half the time and that crashes caused by distractions range from minor damage to fatal injury. Cellphone use raises the risk of crashing, but texting is likely to increase crash risk more than cellphone use. "Despite all that has been written about driver distraction, there is still a lot that we do not know," GHSA executive director Barbara Harsha said in a statement. "Clearly, more studies need to be done addressing both the scope of the problem and how to effectively address it." The GHSA defined distracted driving and suggested measures for states and organizations to reduce distracted driving. The report said laws banning handheld cellphones while driving reduced their use by roughly half since they were first implemented, but cellphone use increased subsequently. There is no conclusive evidence on whether hands-free cellphone use is less risky than handheld use, the report said. Evidence is also lacking on whether cellphone or texting bans have reduced crashes or injuries. The GHSA suggested a complete ban on cellphone use, handsfree or not, for novice drivers, who are the highest-risk. It also recommended a texting ban for all drivers. Thirty U.S. states and the District of Columbia have prohibited the use of all cellphones by novice drivers and 41 states and Washington, D.C. had prohibited texting by novice drivers. Thirty four states and the District of Columbia have enacted texting bans for all drivers. But the report said texting bans have proven difficult to enforce. Because the research and data on these laws' effectiveness is not definitive, the report recommends the 41 states without handheld cellphone bans hold off and monitor existing laws before enacting their own. The GHSA represents the state and territorial highway safety offices. Its members are appointed by their governors.[/release] ...In other news, it's been discovered that not paying attention while driving will result in an accident. :rolleyes: [i]*sigh*[/i]

Wow! Who would've known!? Oh wait... the ones that can't drive.

Jesus never texted while driving. :colbert:

Aren't, like, 70% of all car crashes because of a distraction?

I'm lucky I have speech to text on my android because I am terrible at texting while driving At least I was the one time I tried it and almost made friends with a ditch

faraday cage car?

Why the hell would you even text while you drive. Do people have any will-power? You're putting other people's lives at risk cause you want to say "lol" to your friend.

[QUOTE=edberg;31004216]faraday cage car?[/QUOTE] I've suggested that before but realised the flaw in my idea. ... windows.

[QUOTE=W00tbeer1;31004618]Why the hell would you even text while you drive. Do people have any will-power? You're putting other people's lives at risk cause you want to say "lol" to your friend.[/QUOTE] Just to give an idea of how distracting it is, I once tried to reply to a text with "K" while driving. I absolutely could not keep a comfortable level of attention on the road and I had to pull over to do it. If that's one letter imagine how dangerous people who text entire sentences while drinking their coffee while driving are.

Would that be 100%? I'm pretty sure you can count a car as a gadget.

It's cool to have a BMW 500 series :) ( They have a built in hands free via bluetooth )

[QUOTE=Itsjustguy;31006257]It's cool to have a BMW 500 series :) ( They have a built in hands free via bluetooth )[/QUOTE] you can get car radios that do it for relatively cheap, you just need a phone that supports hands free.

[QUOTE=Gareth;31006796]you can get car radios that do it for relatively cheap, you just need a phone that supports hands free.[/QUOTE] Ye but is it already built in :)

[QUOTE=sltungle;31005226]I've suggested that before but realised the flaw in my idea. ... windows.[/QUOTE] Some types of window-tint can make windows act like Faraday cages, because they contain a conductive metallic compound.

[QUOTE=Itsjustguy;31006891]Ye but is it already built in :)[/QUOTE] Did you come in here just to brag about having a nice car? Real mature. We were almost run off the road by some idiot talking on his cell phone the other day. He was veering between lanes for nearly a mile before we turned off.

It's illegal where I live for a person to touch a phone while they are driving, unless it is holstered on the dash / windshield area. And the police crack down hard on it. Mate had his phone alarm go off. Got to stop lights, pulled it out of his pocket, cop saw him. 3 points out of 5 towards a 6 month license suspension.

[QUOTE=DogGunn;31007406]It's illegal where I live for a person to touch a phone while they are driving, unless it is holstered on the dash / windshield area. And the police crack down hard on it. Mate had his phone alarm go off. Got to stop lights, pulled it out of his pocket, cop saw him. 3 points out of 5 towards a 6 month license suspension.[/QUOTE] I wish our police force was that dedicated. Kids spin out of the high school parking lot without as much as a look.

[url]http://www.amazon.com/Wheelmate-Laptop-Steering-Wheel-Desk/dp/B000IZGIA8[/url] I'll just leave this here. Stuff like this is one of the reasons I prefer manual transmission. It (at least off the highways) usually keeps you too busy driving to be doing any other bullshit.

[QUOTE=Murkrow;31007486][url]http://www.amazon.com/Wheelmate-Laptop-Steering-Wheel-Desk/dp/B000IZGIA8[/url] I'll just leave this here. Stuff like this is one of the reasons I prefer manual transmission. It (at least off the highways) usually keeps you too busy driving to be doing any other bullshit.[/QUOTE] the reviews on that thing are great. [quote]My copilot and I both used these during our "daily grind" transcontinental flights from San Diego to Minneapolis. We had to modify them a bit to fit snug against the instrument panels (when we bought them we didn't realize the planes we fly don't have steering wheels!), but in the end it did the job. With our laptops firmly in place we were able to focus our attention on what really mattered, participating in raids with our WoW clan. During our last flight we were so immersed in trying to take down Eranikus that we overshot Minneapolis by a full hour and a half before some annoying flight attendant interrupted us, babbling something about "FAA and F16 fighters." [/quote]

Aaaand people think flying cars are a fantastic idea why?

if I see other drivers texting/talking on a phone when I'm driving then I generally try to get away from them

[QUOTE=J!NX;31001732]Wow! Who would've known!? Oh wait... the ones that can't drive.[/QUOTE] i can't drive and EVEN I know this

[QUOTE=Murkrow;31007486][url]http://www.amazon.com/Wheelmate-Laptop-Steering-Wheel-Desk/dp/B000IZGIA8[/url] I'll just leave this here. Stuff like this is one of the reasons I prefer manual transmission. It (at least off the highways) usually keeps you too busy driving to be doing any other bullshit.[/QUOTE] The customer images are hilarious.

[QUOTE=Murkrow;31007486][URL]http://www.amazon.com/Wheelmate-Laptop-Steering-Wheel-Desk/dp/B000IZGIA8[/URL] I'll just leave this here. Stuff like this is one of the reasons I prefer manual transmission. It (at least off the highways) usually keeps you too busy driving to be doing any other bullshit.[/QUOTE] If you have any decent amount of torks, it's not impossible to text while driving if you don't mind a bit higher revs

[QUOTE=SoaringScout;31020950]The customer images are hilarious.[/QUOTE] [img]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51mRy-cL16L._SL500_SS100_.jpg[/img] um

[QUOTE=fishyfish777;31020966]If you have any decent amount of torks, it's not impossible to text while driving if you don't mind a bit higher revs[/QUOTE] > Mmm, texting at lights. > Lights change. > Drive in first to 20KM/h Then what?

I'll generally pull over if text is important other wise i just call and put phone on speaker.

I was expecting the rate to be higher.

[QUOTE=Untouch;31020977][img]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51mRy-cL16L._SL500_SS100_.jpg[/img] um[/QUOTE] What? How do you not notice the images of car crashes?