An update on recent articles related to Distracted Driving and associated research.

In this update we feature three articles addressing different aspects of Distracted Driving:

  • a study showing that, contrary to general perceptions, older and professional drivers can often be the worst DD offenders;
  • an Injury Board article taking aim at car manufacturers who continue to load their vehicles with connected technology;
  • and news about some research into techniques to distinguish between driver and passenger use of cell phones.

It’s Not Just Teenagers

An article on money.msn.com asks the question: “Who Are the Most Distracted Drivers?“. Whilst most people assume that teens are the worst offenders, some of the results of the survey are interesting. For example, while 40% of American adults who are licensed motorists acknowledge that being distracted while driving caused them to swerve into another lane, slam on the brakes, get a ticket, almost get into an accident or have a wreck, that number rose to 49% for drivers who have college degrees and 43% for drivers who earn at least $75,000 a year. The article suggests well-to-do, well-educated drivers may exhibit the same traits as a classic impatient “Type A” personality.

Read more about the survey here: http://money.msn.com/auto-insurance/who-are-the-most-distracted-drivers-insurancequotes.aspx

Car Manufacturers Continue to Promote Distracting Technology

Mark Bello has posted an interesting article on the Injury Board website, “Connected Cars: Innovations or Distractions“, which takes a swipe at the apparent never-ending desire of vehicle manufacturers to load more and more “connected” technology into their cars.

Bello lists some of the recent “innovations” by major manufacturers, and poses the question…”Are these manufacturers taking safety seriously or is their interest only in the latest and greatest technology and…..profits?”.

Read the full article here: http://farmingtonhills.injuryboard.com/automobile-accidents/connected-cars-innovations-or-distractions.aspx?googleid=295296

Detecting Driver or Passenger Use of Cellphone

The Stevens Institute of Technology reports on recent research conducted by staff from Stevens and Rutgers Universities. This research addresses the problem of reliably distinguishing between a driver and passenger using a mobile phone inside a vehicle. Utilising an acoustic approach leveraging Bluetooth and the car’s stereo, the intial results showed a success rate of 95%.

Read about the research here: http://www.stevens.edu/news/content/stevens-researcher-dr-chen-detects-driver-cell-phone-use-decrease-accidents

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