Psychology 409-007
December 5, 2005
My second Outline of Assigned Readings
By Mari Osakoda
Drunk Cell Phone Drivers?
Driving Lessons: Exploring Systems That Make Traffic Safer by J. Peter
Rothe Chapter 19-Is Using A Cell
Phone Like Driving Drunk? By Donald A. Redelmeier & Robert J.
Tibshirani
Instructions for this activity are found at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy23/409a-g23-oral.htm
Instructor: Dr. Leon James
o
Cell phones are
the new targets of contributing risk factor in automobile accidents. The authors of this chapter did a study to
see how much of a risk cell phones actually are as opposed to other factors
such as eating, drinking, listening to the radio, or talking with
passengers.
o
Drivers need to
be aware of their driving style and consider if they are capable enough drivers
to handle the task of driving and talking on the phone at the same time. Knowing oneself as a driver is important in
assessing a person’s ability as a driver.
o
I choose this
concept because people need to be aware of limitations in their driving
ability. Drivers should know what they
are capable of doing while on the road.
If drivers take the time to objectively examine their driving ability
there may be a decrease in driving related accidents and injuries.
·
Findings of
the Study
o
The results of
the study were drivers who were talking on their cell phones increased their
crash risk by 6.5. They also found that
the use of headsets increased a drivers crash risk by 5.9. Their results recommended that cell phones
be used in moderation while driving.
o
Time is valuable,
and cannot be wasted. We live in an era
where multi-tasking has become the norm.
Even if people are given the data that says talking on the cell phone
and driving are dangerous people are still going to do it. Time is money!
o
This concept
stood out for me because I would like for there to be more hours in the day but
I don’t think saving time is worth compromising a person’s safety. Lives are precious and talking on the phone
to save a few minutes here and there isn’t worth someone’s life.
·
Journalistic
Hype
o
Some people in
the media have taken studies like this one and concluded that driving while on
the phone is the same as driving drunk.
The average cell phone call is about two minutes long, and alcohol can
stay in a persons system for several hours.
It is a much larger risk to be driving drunk than to be talking on the
phone.
o
Findings of studies
should be taken at face value; they consist of a small sample of the population
and should not be interpreted as the absolute truth. The general public needs to be aware how sample sizes affect the
results of a study
o
I choose this
concept because I realize how sample sizes, confounding, and other factors can
sometimes give false results of a study.
A common person does not understand this and takes the results of the
study and thinks that the results are the absolute truth. The public needs to be more wary of the
information they receive and how they interpret it.
(i) My Home
Page: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2005/osakoda/
(II) The G23 Class Home
Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy23/classhome-g23.htm
(iii) Related
Web Links:
·
http://www.nsc.org/library/shelf/inincell.htm-
National Safety Council-Findings on cell phone use and driving
·
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/08/16/cell.phone.driving/-
Study on cell phone use
· http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/wireless/- Safety implications of cell phone use in automobiles