Blog
Do cell phones influence our automobile driving decision making?
For those of us who understand the distractions of talking or texting on a cell phone while driving and acknowledge this is not a safe thing to do, we probably avoid picking up the phone to use while the vehicle is in motion. But how many of us while sitting at a stop light or during stopped heavy traffic decide to use the phone with the intention of completing our use of the phone while the vehicle is still stopped? We have the intention to put the phone down if it is time for the vehicle to start moving again, but how many of us would really do that? Would we want to finish the conversation or terminate the call immediately with a call back later? We would stop completing our text or not bothering to send it because traffic was moving again? If we don’t terminate the phone use immediately then we find ourselves in that very position which we know isn’t safe, and we swore we wouldn’t do. How many people do we see on their cell phone who started out while they were stopped and then try to finish the call as they start moving again? Has anyone been behind the person who doesn’t move when the light turns green or is creeping along well below the speed limit? This can cause accidents for other drivers just as much as a vehicle in motion. What will it take before we learn to keep the phone down and out of sight until the engine is cut off? Terry L. Jacks Frontline Performance Leader