CELL PHONES AND DISTRACTED DRIVING: Everyone has heard about the laws restricting the use of cellular telephones while driving and the studies that justify them. Driving while distracted is not a good idea and can raise the risk of accidents. Studies show that texting while driving is particularly dangerous, perhaps because it takes more attention to compose a message and manipulate the phone to send it than just talking. But talking on a phone even with a hands-free device, has been shown to be dangerous, causing inattentional blindness, which is the idea that a driver can look at the road but not recognize the surroundings if sufficiently engrossed in a conversation.
The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.