Unexpected! No. 1 Driving Distraction

[MSP4EVER]

It's not newfangled cell phones that cause us to become so distracted while driving that we have a crash. Rather, it's old-fashioned rubbernecking that is our top driving distraction. Cell phones aren't even in the top five.

That's the word from a new study about the cause of traffic accidents conducted by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. More than 2,700 crash scenes and 4,500 drivers were studied in what may be the most comprehensive look ever at how a simple distraction can have such disastrous effects.

"We've known for years that drivers contribute more to causing crashes than the vehicle or the roadway," Robert J. Breitenbach, director of VCU's Transportation Safety Training Center, said in a news release announcing the study. "In many instances the driver error involves not paying attention to the driving task. We can now identify those distractions with some confidence."

The top 15 driving distractions are:

1. Rubbernecking (looking at a crash, vehicle, roadside incident, or traffic): 16 percent
2. Driver fatigue: 12 percent
3. Looking at scenery or landmarks: 10 percent
4. Passenger or child distraction: 9 percent
5. Adjusting radio or changing CD or tape: 7 percent
6. Cell phone: 5 percent
7. Eyes not on the road: 4.5 percent
8. Not paying attention, daydreaming: 4 percent
9. Eating or drinking: 4 percent
10. Adjusting vehicle controls: 4 percent
11. Weather conditions: 2 percent
12. Unknown: 2 percent
13. Insect, animal, or object entering or striking vehicle: 2 percent
14. Document, book, map, directions, or newspaper: 2 percent
15. Medical or emotional impairment: 2 percent

Fascinating facts:

• Fully 62 percent of the crashes involving driver distraction occurred in rural areas.
• Top distractions in rural areas were driver fatigue, insects, animals, and unrestrained pets.
• Top distractions in urban areas were rubbernecking, traffic, other vehicles, and cell phones.

Pay attention out there!

-Netscape-

 

[tttP5]

i think it makes sense. if you think about it an accident at the side of the road causes every driver to pass by to look at it, so in about 5 minutes for example there maybe 20 drivers passing by that accident and looking, this greatly increases the probability of either one of those passerbys to be involved in an accident.
if you think about a cell phone, on the same stretch of road in 5 minutes there maybe only one or none drivers using a cell phone at that moment.

hence the statistics are correct but do not necessarly mean that driving while talking on the cell phone is less dangerous than looking a accidents.

also i think with cell phones, ppl that talk still keep their eyes on the road but then their brain is more distracted, my conclusion is that ppl on cell phones can still avoid accidents because they can see it happenening, but are more likely to make dangerous manouvers which may cause accident to others because they are less aware of their surrounding with part of their brain taken up doing talking.

 

[2K3 MSP]

Using cell phones never crossed my mind as a reason for accidents. It's mainly that people can't concentrate on driving at the speed of everyone else and talk on the phone at the same time. And what's the obvious solution? Concentrate on the phone call, stay in the fast lane, and reduce your speed to 15mph slower than everybody else.
And I'm not at all surprised that rubbernecking is #1. I hate those goddamned people. If I have a passenger with me, I'll have them give me a description of what they see, but I never look over, just for the simple fact that I don't want to rear end the idiot in front of me that wants to see what happened for himself. I always see people slam on their brakes just because someone is pulled over on the side of the road too. No accident, no flat tire, they just had to pull over for some reason, and everyone else wants to try and figure out why. It's insane.

 

[scott42]

what about (boobs)

 

[jersey_emt]

Boobies are the cause of nearly every accident.

 

[scott42]

I seriously think that any accident that I've ever almost been involved in has either directly or indirectly involved female anatomy... (rofl2)

 

[REMillers]

Yep nothing more fustrating than to sit on the highway for hours going no where only to pass a accident in the SHOULDER!!! and have traffic return to normal right after it. Why the hell was traffic slowed down before it, cause people have to look.

Ohh look blinky lights, ok Kids press your little eyes againts the window maybe there is a mangled body out there!!

What is even more shocking to me is how little people pay attention to a sole motorist broken down on the road, yet when there is a tow truck there they all look over.
Hmmm think people would want to pay more attention to the single person and make sure they are ok, guess the lack of a big blinking light plays in part here.

My god we must be related to MOTHS!!!

 

[mp3girly]

I'm so guilty of 1, 2, and 3 lately.. I have a 45 minute drive to work which goes through mostly forested and rural areas, then some urban areas.. I am usually dead tired going home from work, and my mind wanders.. a lot.. how am I not dead yet? @_@