Wednesday, April 8, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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‘distracted driving’ at an all-time high
CORVALLIS – Young,
inexperienced drivers have
always gotten into more auto-
mobile accidents, but if you
add in a lot of distractions,
it’s a recipe for disaster –
and a new Pacific Northwest
research program is learning
more about these risks while
identifying approaches that
may help reduce them.
Distractions have been
an issue since the age of the
Model T, whether a driver
was eating a sandwich or
talking to a passenger. But
the advent of cell phones, text
messaging and heavy urban
traffic has taken those distrac-
tions to a historic level, say
researchers, who emphasize
that there appears to be value
in educating young drivers
about these special risks.
A new study of 3,000
teenage drivers in Alaska,
Washington, Idaho and
Oregon has found that inter-
active presentations admin-
istered to young drivers in
a classroom or auditorium –
more than passive listening
– can have some ability to
raise their awareness of this
problem. Experts conclude
that more work of this type
should be pursued nationally.
“Based on recent stud-
ies, anything that takes your
attention away, any glance
away from the road for
two seconds or longer can
increase the risk of an acci-
dent from four to 24 times,”
said David Hurwitz, an
assistant professor of trans-
portation engineering in the
College of Engineering at
Oregon State University, and
corresponding author of the
study, which was published in
the Journal of Transportation
Safety and Security.
“This is a dramatic
increase in risk, with inexpe-
rienced drivers who are least
able to handle it,” he said.
“The absolute worst is tex-
ting on a cell phone, which is
a whole group of distractions.
With texting, you’re doing
something besides driving,
thinking about something
besides driving, and looking
at the wrong thing.”
One study has equated
texting on a cell phone equiv-
alent to driving drunk.
While many young driv-
ers understand the risks of
texting, Hurwitz said, they
are much less aware of other
concerns that can be real —
eating, drinking, talking on a
cell phone, smoking, adjust-
ing the radio, changing a CD,
using a digital map or other
controls.
“Automobile manufac-
turers have made cars sig-
nificantly safer, but in the
interests of passenger com-
fort they also continue to add
more pleasant distractions
within the vehicle,” Hurwitz
said. “More experienced
drivers learn how to control
these distractions, but we’re
finding the most problems
with the very young driver,
within six months of getting
a license.”
Aside from lack of expe-
rience, he said, young driv-
ers also have a higher risk
tolerance, use seat belts less,
and choose higher speeds.
The recent research found
that 27 percent of respon-
dents changed clothes or
shoes while driving, and
some worked on homework.
Adding more distractions
doesn’t help.
What researchers found
that can help is “interactive”
driver training that focuses
on the issue of distractions,
which can be done with driv-
ing simulators or simple com-
puters, and can involve writ-
ing, discussion and tactile
problem-solving.
“Young people learn bet-
ter when they are involved
in the process, not just sitting
and listening to a lecture,”
Hurwitz said. “We think an
increase in active learning
will help with this problem
and can improve driver edu-
cation. Students doing this
can see how much better
their awareness and reaction
time are when they aren’t
distracted.”
The research is finding
some surprises, as well.
Studies are showing that
“hands-free” cell phones are
really no safer than a hand-
held cell phone. The real
distraction appears to be the
driver talking to someone
who is not in the car, a distant
voice who’s oblivious to the
freeway traffic jam.
“The evidence suggests
that it may be reasonably safe
to have passengers that you
talk to in the car,” Hurwitz
said. “For one thing, if an
incident happens that requires
a quick reaction, everyone in
the car may see it, stop talk-
ing and pay immediate atten-
tion. And you literally have
more sets of eyes on the road
to see upcoming problems.”
There are some gender dif-
ferences among young driv-
ers. Females are more likely
to use a cell phone while
driving, and males are more
likely to look away from the
road while talking to others in
the car.
A large increase in this
type of training will be
necessary for it to become
more widely integrated, the
researchers said.
This project was funded
by the Pacific Northwest
Transportation Consortium,
an initiative supported by
OSU, the University of
Washington, University of
Idaho, Washington State
University and the University
of Alaska-Fairbanks.
A YouTube video about
this “distracted driver” pro-
gram is available online:
http://bit.ly/1MuqpNC.