from wired
Published by kfiducia February 2nd, 2005 in News, va2.0, Uncategorizedgranny drivers: Talking on a cell phone makes you drive like a retiree — even if you’re only a teen, a new study shows. A report from the University of Utah says when motorists between 18 and 25 talk on cell phones, they drive like elderly people — moving and reacting more slowly and increasing their risk of accidents.
They found that when 18- to-25-year-olds were placed in a driving simulator and talked on a cellular phone, they reacted to brake lights from a car in front of them as slowly as 65- to 74-year-olds who were not using a cell phone.
In fact, motorists who talk on cell phones are more impaired than drunken drivers with blood-alcohol levels exceeding 0.08 percent, the research shows.
The study found that drivers who talked on cell phones were 18 percent slower in braking and took 17 percent longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked.
i read a case study that proved for drivers 18-26, talking to someone in the car was just as distracting as talking on a cell phone. the interference isnt the phone, but in the attentional processes.