Same Guys Remind Us That Yakking While Driving Is Really Bad

from the sorry,-you-were-saying dept

A new study claims that talking on your cell phone while driving is more dangerous than talking to passengers while driving. It comes from the same group of researchers at the University of Utah that's been pumping out similar studies for years, like the one that said a 20-year-old driver instantly assumes the reaction speed of a 70-year-old when they start talking on the phone, and that talking while driving impairs a driver more than drunk driving, or the one blaming slow traffic on people talking while driving. The thrust of the research -- or at least how it always gets spun -- is as ammo for more laws to ban talking on the phone while driving, which, as always, miss the point. Again, this latest study focuses on a single distraction, and leads people to believe that banning it will immediately make roads safer. But aren't there lots of things that are more "dangerous" or distracting to do while driving than talking to passengers, but aren't the continual focus for new legislation? Trying to ban stupidity or unsafe driving, distraction by distraction, will be pretty difficult, not to mention ineffective.

Filed Under: driving while yakking