Trivia Junction

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Cell Phones Drive To Kill

Anyone who has ever shared the road with another driver on a cell phone knows they just don't drive so well. Now there's experimental proof.

Researchers at the University of Utah tested 40 volunteers using a driving simulator under different driving conditions: undistracted, using a hand-held cell phone, a hands-free cell phone, and while intoxicated to a 0.08 blood-alcohol level – the average legal level of impairment in the United States.

Intoxicated drivers tended to drive more slowly (but more aggressively) than both undistracted drivers and cell phone users. Drivers using phones drove slower than undistracted drivers, but also tended to vary their speeds more and were 9 percent slower to hit the brakes.

Three of the study participants ended up crashing into a simulated car in front of them during the driving exercises. All had been talking on a cell phone at the time; none were drunk.

“Driving while talking on a cell phone is as bad as or maybe worse than driving drunk,” said Frank Drews, an assistant professor of psychology who worked on the study.

Speaking of driving drunk, another study – this one out of the University of Washington – says that people who consume just one alcoholic drink still experience significant visual impairment and may be incapable of driving safely.

The researchers' conclusion: Save that after-work drink until you're home.

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