I’ve often used this blog to discuss the dangers inherent in texting while behind the wheel of an automobile. But could the very act of simply anticipating a call coming through be posing a danger as well?
That’s what a new study suggests. Researchers at the University of Washington conducted a study which looked at the driving habits of 384 students at the university. These participants were put judged based off of what was being called the Cell Phone Overuse Scale. This scale was used to establish such cell phone usage problems as interference with other activities, call anticipation, having an emotional attachment to a phone, and recognizing when such usage is problematic.
Researchers then had these students fill out an anonymous survey which asked questions about their driving history, and then compared the data from the two scales.
What they discovered was that those persons who had been involved in a crash prior to the survey are far more likely to be regularly anticipating phone calls. This means that the sheer act of thinking about a potential call might then be posing an obstacle to safe driving.
It saddens me as a Fresno car accident attorney to see these kind of statistics. They show us that there’s still a lot of work to do before the threat of distracted driving is vanquished. I hope as a personal injury lawyer in Fresno that people will begin to see the dangers of this practice.