Outline of My Tenth Oral Presentation
The Never-ending Debate of Cell Phones
This
is a presentation of “Driving Lessons”:
Written By Donald A. Redelmeier & Robert J.
Tibshirani. Edited By J. Peter Rothe; The
Instructions for this oral presentation may be found at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonpsy22/g22-oral.htm
1. Benefits of cell phone use in the car
A. Cell phones allow drivers to call ahead when running late and travel with increased peace of mind. (Psychological importance of having a cell phone)
B. The substantial growth of this industry has not been correlated to the dramatic increase in collision rates.
C. Drivers face many other distractions (such as eating and talking with passengers) so that singling out cell phones seems unjustified.
2. Research & Results of cell phone use and collisions
A. Research included…
a. A 1978 survey. Its purpose? To evaluate an early generation of mobile telephone.
b.
B. Results
a. From the 1978 survey
i. The survey of 498 individuals found that the overall frequency of traffic collisions was marginally lower among mobile telephone subscribers than members of the general public (11% versus 12%)
ii. A flaw?? Prior to the 1990s most mobile telephone owners were young, intelligent, urban professionals who would otherwise be expected to have very low collision rates and very safe driving patterns.
iii. A flaw in a flaw?? These stereotypes make it inevitable for urban middle-class and the less fortunate to have a decent reputation.
b.
i. 5890 individuals were screened, of which 1064 acknowledged having a cellular phone, 742 consented, and 699 proved the hypothesis.
ii. The data showed drivers were more likely to have made a cellphone call during the ten-minute interval immediately before the collision than during a similar interval on the day before the collision (24% versus 5%).
iii. A 6.5% increased risk of a motor-vehicle collision when they were using a telephone compared to when they were not.
3. Conclusion & Discussion
A. Pros
a. Convenience
B. Cons
a. Lack of concentration, especially at intersections.
C. You be the judge.
4. My Home Page – www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as2005/nerona/home.htm