New VTTI study results continue to highlight the dangers of distracted driving | Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

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Recently released results from a new Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) naturalistic driving study continue to show that distracted driving is a tangible threat.

The study, entitled The Impact of Hand-Held and Hands-Free Cell Phone Use on Driving Performance and Safety Critical Event Risk, shows that engaging in visual-manual subtasks (such as reaching for a phone, dialing and texting) associated with the use of hand-held phones and other portable devices increased the risk of getting into a crash by three times. The data were collected by VTTI and Westat. The study, which was conducted under a separate contract from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), found:

> Text messaging, browsing and dialing resulted in the longest duration of drivers taking their eyes off the road.

> Text messaging increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by two times and resulted in drivers taking their eyes off the road for an average of 23 seconds total.

> Activities performed when completing a phone call (reaching for a phone, looking up a contact and dialing the number) increased crash risk by three times.

> There is no direct increased crash risk from the specific act of talking on a cell phone. However, visual-manual tasks (locating the phone, looking at the phone and touching the phone) are always involved when using a hand-held cell phone. This makes the overall use of a hand-held cell phone riskier when driving.

MoBikeFed comment: Distracted driving has been identified by our members and supporters as a top priority. For that reason, we have been very active in a statewide workgroup to address the issue of distracted driving and are testifying in support of a Hands Free Electronic Device bill at a hearing in Jefferson City this week.

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