Study: Cellphone-toting motorists contribute to traffic

A new study concludes drivers who talk on cellphones contribute to traffic congestion, a consequence compounding well-documented dangers of operating wireless devices while behind the wheel.
“At the end of the day, the average person’s commute is longer because of that person who is on the cellphone right in front of them,” said University of Utah psychology professor Dave Strayer, head of the research team. “That SOB on the cellphone is slowing you down and making you late.”
Strayer has gained attention in recent years for a number of studies on chatting while driving. According to the findings: Hands-free cellphone devices are no less dangerous when used while driving than hand-held phones because the conversation itself is the major distraction; when young adults talk on cellphones while driving, their reaction times become as slow as reaction times for senior citizens; and drivers talking on cellphones are as impaired as drivers with the 0.08% blood-alcohol level that defines drunken driving in most states.
“If you talk on the phone while you’re driving, it’s going to take you longer to get from point A to point B, and it’s going to slow down everybody else on the road,” said Joel Cooper, a doctoral student in psychology.
Cooper is scheduled to present the findings from the study Jan. 16 during the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting in the nation’s capital. The board is part of the National Academies, parent organization of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and Institute of Medicine.
Highway statistics, according to University of Utah researchers, suggest drivers on cellphones are four times more likely to be in an accident, with Strayer’s prior research putting the risk at more than 5 times greater. More than 70% of the nation’s 250 million mobile-phone subscribers talk while driving, according to the cellular industry, while a different survey found that at any given moment during the day 10% of drivers are operating cellphones.