This is one of those stupid newspaper articles that doesn't tell you anything common sense would already have told you! I'm surprised that the government hasn't funded a billion dollar study for it!.....
Why texting at the wheel is as dangerous as being well over drink-drive limit
Writing text messages while driving is as dangerous as being considerably above the legal drink-drive limit, researchers have found.
An international inquiry concluded that sending messages on a mobile phone leads to “significant risksâ€.
Researchers found it was as dangerous as being a quarter over the legal drink-drive limit.
The study, published in the Traffic Injury Prevention journal, also found that having deep, thoughtful conversations while using a hands-free mobile phone was a danger.
In contrast, simple discussions may not carry significant driving risks, according to scientists from the University of Barcelona and several Australian institutes.
“Our results suggest that the use of hands-free devices could also put drivers at risk,†said Dr Sumie Leung Shuk Man, co-author of the study.
“Although they should be allowed, they require more research to determine how they should be regulated.â€
In their study, the scientists compared the effects of mobile phone use while driving with the effects of alcohol.
In Australia, 12 healthy volunteers, all students who held a driving licence, completed a series of driving tasks on two separate days, a week apart.
Driving performance was assessed by time within a target speed range. The study looked at speeding, braking reaction time, speed deviation and lane changing.
Habitual drinkers and those who had never drunk alcohol before the test were not allowed to participate. One day, the group members used a mobile phone, while they performed a “simulated driving task†under four conditions.
These included no phone usage, talking naturally with a hands-free device, holding a demanding conversation over a hands-free phone and text messaging.
The two different conversation levels were the equivalent to a “natural conversationâ€, in which the subject and scientist spoke about an interesting subject “as a way of passing the timeâ€.
A dialogue with more specific and demanding questions included queries such as: “Can you describe the car journey from your work to your house?â€
On the other day, the volunteers drank alcohol to reach three different blood alcohol concentration levels: 0.04, equivalent to 40 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood and half the legal limit in Britain; 0.07; and 0.10. Some of them drank no alcohol.
Using a driving simulator, volunteers had to keep their position in the left lane at a speed of almost 40mph (60kmh) and 50mph (80kmh), braking every time a lorry appeared.
Headphones and a microphone were used to simulate the effect of a hands-free phone.
The results showed that road skills declined by an equal amount among volunteers 25 per cent above the legal drink limit and those who used their phone for text messages.
When using hands-free phones during “simple†conversations, it was similar to having a blood-alcohol level of 0.04. If more attention was required, the reading “shot up†to the blood alcohol equivalent of 0.07.
When the volunteers answered text messages, the rate stood at the equivalent of 0.1. The legal driving limit in Britain is 0.08 or 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
“The findings … suggest that very simple conversations on a mobile phone may not represent a significant driving risk compared with legally permissible blood alcohol levels,†said Dr Shuk Man, of the University of Barcelona.
“Cognitively demanding, hands-free conversation and particularly texting represent significant risks.â€
The Australian institutes of Wollongong University, Victoria University, Swinburne University of Technology and The Institute for Breathing and Sleep were also involved in the study.
Link: http://soa.li/AsksKZB
Posted using Tapatalk 2 via my RAZR
Why texting at the wheel is as dangerous as being well over drink-drive limit
Writing text messages while driving is as dangerous as being considerably above the legal drink-drive limit, researchers have found.
An international inquiry concluded that sending messages on a mobile phone leads to “significant risksâ€.
Researchers found it was as dangerous as being a quarter over the legal drink-drive limit.
The study, published in the Traffic Injury Prevention journal, also found that having deep, thoughtful conversations while using a hands-free mobile phone was a danger.
In contrast, simple discussions may not carry significant driving risks, according to scientists from the University of Barcelona and several Australian institutes.
“Our results suggest that the use of hands-free devices could also put drivers at risk,†said Dr Sumie Leung Shuk Man, co-author of the study.
“Although they should be allowed, they require more research to determine how they should be regulated.â€
In their study, the scientists compared the effects of mobile phone use while driving with the effects of alcohol.
In Australia, 12 healthy volunteers, all students who held a driving licence, completed a series of driving tasks on two separate days, a week apart.
Driving performance was assessed by time within a target speed range. The study looked at speeding, braking reaction time, speed deviation and lane changing.
Habitual drinkers and those who had never drunk alcohol before the test were not allowed to participate. One day, the group members used a mobile phone, while they performed a “simulated driving task†under four conditions.
These included no phone usage, talking naturally with a hands-free device, holding a demanding conversation over a hands-free phone and text messaging.
The two different conversation levels were the equivalent to a “natural conversationâ€, in which the subject and scientist spoke about an interesting subject “as a way of passing the timeâ€.
A dialogue with more specific and demanding questions included queries such as: “Can you describe the car journey from your work to your house?â€
On the other day, the volunteers drank alcohol to reach three different blood alcohol concentration levels: 0.04, equivalent to 40 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood and half the legal limit in Britain; 0.07; and 0.10. Some of them drank no alcohol.
Using a driving simulator, volunteers had to keep their position in the left lane at a speed of almost 40mph (60kmh) and 50mph (80kmh), braking every time a lorry appeared.
Headphones and a microphone were used to simulate the effect of a hands-free phone.
The results showed that road skills declined by an equal amount among volunteers 25 per cent above the legal drink limit and those who used their phone for text messages.
When using hands-free phones during “simple†conversations, it was similar to having a blood-alcohol level of 0.04. If more attention was required, the reading “shot up†to the blood alcohol equivalent of 0.07.
When the volunteers answered text messages, the rate stood at the equivalent of 0.1. The legal driving limit in Britain is 0.08 or 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
“The findings … suggest that very simple conversations on a mobile phone may not represent a significant driving risk compared with legally permissible blood alcohol levels,†said Dr Shuk Man, of the University of Barcelona.
“Cognitively demanding, hands-free conversation and particularly texting represent significant risks.â€
The Australian institutes of Wollongong University, Victoria University, Swinburne University of Technology and The Institute for Breathing and Sleep were also involved in the study.
Link: http://soa.li/AsksKZB
Posted using Tapatalk 2 via my RAZR
