magnumpi

I still don't get why smoking and driving is ok while chatting on a cell fone is not ? Surely holding a hot item such as a cigarette and lighting the cig using fire, (lighter or matches) is far worse than talking on a cell.

Jingsamichty

It's not so much the physical coordination as the mental distraction.

Shard

+1

The mental distraction can be enormous.

From an EU report:

Effects on driving performance? Research shows that using a car telephone while driving distracts the
driver and causes driving behaviour which adversely affects road safety. While hands-free phones and
other devices, such as speed dialling and voice activation reduce physical distraction, the most important
negative factor associated with using a mobile phone while driving, whether hands-free or hand-held, is
diversion of attention from driving to the conversation itself. The extent of the negative effects of telephone
use while driving depends on the complexity of both the conversation and the driving situation. Driver
reaction times are 30% slower when telephoning while driving than driving with BAC levels of 80mg/100ml
and 50% slower than under normal driving conditions.
Hands-free versus hand-held? Studies indicate that the use of hands-free phones causes as much
important driver distraction as the use of hand-held phones. Some studies show that in-car telephone
conversations while driving can impair drivers more than listening to the radio or talking to passengers.
An epidemiological study of crash involvement found that mobile phone use was associated with a greater
likelihood of crash than passenger carriage and increasing numbers of passengers

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_s...oad_safety.pdf

orly

I've seen people driving with their feet up on the dash here. Cruise control...what a menace

Shard

Drivers ? Lordy, Lordy...