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Subscribe to RSSAmericans live far more dangerously than our European counterparts when it comes to texting and driving, with more than two-thirds of us admitting to texting while at the wheel, federal government researchers reported on Thursday.
A survey of drivers across the United States and Europe shows big differences in the numbers who admit they get distracted at the phone, but the U.S. scored by far the worst.
Just short of 69 percent of Americans aged 18 to 64 admitted to talking on a cell phone while driving at least once in the past 30 days. This compared to 21 percent of British drivers, who were the least likely to text and drive, and 40 percent of adults in France. And 31 percent of U.S. drivers admitted they had texted at the wheel, compared to 15 percent in Spain.
What puzzles the researchers is why the numbers are so different across the seven European countries in the survey: Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
“While U.S. states differ in their cell phone use laws, nearly all European countries have hand-held bans in place, yet there is still a large variation in European estimates,” wrote Rebecca Naumann and Ann Dellinger of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
Virtually all experts agree that talking on a cellphone or using one to write texts or emails is enormously distracting. Even hands-free use can be a major distraction and health experts say people shouldn’t use phones at all while driving.
A team at the University of North Texas Health Science Center reported in 2010 that drivers distracted by cell phones killed an estimated 16,000 people from 2001 to 2007, based on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.
Various U.S. states have tried making it a crime to use a handset while driving, communication campaigns, devices that discourage cellphone use in a moving vehicle and education. The CDC says 33 states and the District of Columbia have laws restricting at least some teens or new drivers from using cell phones while driving.
The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended a blanket ban on the use of cellphones in cars and also encourages the development of technology that would disable cellphone function within reach of a driver in a moving vehicle.
“The cell phone can be a fatal distraction for those who use it while they drive,” CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said in a statement. “Driving and dialing or texting don’t mix. If you are driving, pull over to a safe place and stop before you use your cell phone.”
Linda Degutis, director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, says parents should model safe driving behavior. “It’s especially risky for young, inexperienced drivers -- who are already extremely vulnerable to crashes -- to be distracted when they are behind the wheel. Answering a call or reading a text is never worth a loss of life,” she said.
The CDC team used data from 5,000 people surveyed by marketing and public relations firm Porter Novelli for the study.
Related links:
- California legalizes hands-free texting while driving
- Texting while driving like Russian roulette
- Why cellphone using drivers won't quit
- Texting pedestrians asking for trouble
Leave a Comment:
Put the phones down, people.
--
Sent from my iPhone
Americans live far more dangerously than, (pick a noun).
There is a simple explanation for this that for some reason is not covered here. Europeans generally drive manuals. You can't drive a manual in the city and effectively text, or even hold a phone to talk really. Americans drive automatics so they never have to touch the shifter.
Simple concept, not sure how it could be over looked.
As long as cell providers keep stuffing cash into polititians pockets to devert stupid laws that don't serve their purposes, you'll never see this stopped! The only way to stop people from texting is to implement stiff fines with several unmarked law enforcement vehicles!
They usually have nothing important to talk or text about on cell phones anyways. People have grown too dependent on those. And God forbid the battery needs charging!
Probably the stupidest thing a human can do. Enforce the laws police! What an untapped revenue source. Taking away peoples money seems to be one of the few things that make a difference.
I see police texting on cells or using their in-car computers while driving all the time. It's not going to stop...always-wired-implants or devices that block signals while the car is in motion are the only solutions. One ironic aspect of it all is that the stupidest people are slowly killing themselves off....mind you, I don't want them using me as part of their suicide scheme.
Nothing is more important in the US than corporations making money off dumb people.
It seems to me that we are number "one" in everything I would rather we not be number "one" in.
Well, Lois, at least the guys who won the air guitar contest didnt endnger anyone while pursuing #1
#1 in budget deficit, #1 in entitlements, #1 in welfare and foodstamps, #1 in unemployment......sound familar?!
familiar. not exactly true or accurate. but, familiar. you could have made your point and still be truthful (e.g. #1 in cost of healthcare -- despite being #17 in quality of health services --, #1 in education debt, #1 in stupid political internal squabbling, allowing the crony, career politicians to steal everything we the people have worked for, etc., etc. ad nauseum)
The reason for the different rates between countries of those who text while driving is due to the condition of the roads. More people text and drive in the US because our road system is newer - broad four lane highways, straight and safe. Ever driven in Europe? You can't take your eyes off the road for a second! I imagine some roads in various countries are worse than others, especially in the mountainous regions. Also, people drive super fast in Europe!!! No time to text!
I dont know about that, i have been on some roads in Europe that make some of the roads in this country look like a wagon trail.
Adrienne; what country are you talking about? I too have been to Europe, and Asia, and the roads are quite a bit better than many of the states I have lived in. The reason Americans text and drive is that when it comes to driving, they are dumb as bricks.
that makes sense.. number one in all things de-evolutionary and selfish. We loves our greed, guns, cars, too much beer and cigs goddammit. Don't fergit mma fer my entertainment. Watch yer language and bare skin that might hurt someone. Gaad blees duh US
I whole-heartedly agree with you. Americans (like me) as a whole are self-absorbed ego-maniacs. The reason the whole ad campaign "You text, you drive, you die" doesn't work for Americans is that they believe the only risk they are taking if texting is their own life - so they go ahead and do it. They can't fathom for a moment that other people are on the road.
Yay Americans are the stupidiest! Oh wait, I think we knew that already. Seriously this weekend my husband was almost broadsided by a woman who ran thru a stop sign because she was looking at her phone. We've got to emphasize that driving is not a multi-tasking opportunity.
Does this surprise anyone? The US undoubtedly leads the world when it comes to practicing risky behaviors. Freedom of choice is both a blessing and a curse!
Ray, *#@* Freedom of Choice! Freedom of choice ends at the point a nutcase's fist comes in contact with my nose!! Anyone who pulls such a crazy stunt, one that hurts me or a member of my family, I want him/her to see some real pain!
Is there anything more insanely dangerous than texting while driving? Solution: $200 for first offense; $500 for the second; then continue to double it each time they catch any nitwit who doesn't get the message! Further, if one of these morons is involved in an accident causing injury or death treat it as a major felony and punish it with a LONG prison sentence!!
Second offense... pull their license.
I say pull their license first offense for 3 months...fines don't matter to wealthy people, only to the poor.
2nd offense suspend license for a year and confiscate cell phone... bar cell use for the same period.
20% of all fatal car accidents are caused by drivers with a suspended license, or no license at all. Plus, reports show the majority are repeat offenders. Suspending their license doesn't stop the bad drivers from being on the road. Only jail time can do that, and even that is only temporarily.
We're #1!, we're #1! Go USA!! :-)
Don't you know I'm an important person? Don't you understand that everything in my life is important to others and must be communicated? Why can't you all just look out for me so I can go about my narcisstic day and wonder aimlessly through life, oblivious to the world around me? Why is it so hard for people to understand that I have a right as an American to be the most self absorbed being on the planet?
Hopefully by now you picked up on the intended sarcasm. To the point, put down the damn phone and drive, we did it before cell phones and I bet we can still do it now. If what you have to say is that important, pull over to the side of the road, park somewhere, or call them, but there is no reason to text and drive.
Man, this texting and driving really does make me mad. My S.O. tries to do that every once in a while when she's driving and I'm in the car. She's 47 Y.O. for gods sake. I don't know how many times I've had to ask her not to do that. Sometimes I just want to grab her phone and throw it out the window!
You should...it might save both of your lives...if not your relationship...your call.
I have an hour-long commute each day, and I never answer my phone while driving. I also make sure to tell everyone I know that I *will not* answer calls while driving.
Yet, they still insist on calling me when they know I'm in the middle of my commute, then later complain that I didn't pick up or waited a whole hour to call them back .
It's not just the people behind the wheel that have an entitled mentality. This unexplainable "need" to be in constant and/or instant contact just boggles my mind.
It drives me CRAZY when I am driving down the road and the COPS are driving in the opposite direction - ON THEIR CELL PHONE!!
What the hell kind of example is that!?!?
Yay, America number one?
boy, isnt is just great to be the leader of the pack?! Speaking of leader, maybe Obama should take a few notes himself
Some people are justifying it. Wow! Our roads are better? We drive automatics? Please! Driving is the most complex thing you do. A kid, a dog, another driver texting could pop up at any second. Heck, people can't walk while they are texting, much less drive. I am on alert in any crowded place for the person looking down at their phone or talking on it while trying to walk, shop, etc. The high percentage does explain a lot of bozo behavior that I thought was willful rudeness.
The low frequency of cell phone use by British drivers is easily explained....it's illegal. I think if you are caught there is an on-the-spot fine which is quite substantial. I'm not sure about the rest of Europe but it is certainly frowned upon. I consider myself a responsible driver as are many people, and I'm sure we could all tell nightmare stories about cell phone using drivers around us who seem to have the things surgically attached to their ears and are totally distracted.
I text and drive all the time. I don't see what the problem is. And since the MAJORITY of American drivers do the same I guess the MAJORITY agrees with me. Freedom in America includes doing dangerous things that may impact an individual's life and the lives of others. That is why we have high levels of gun violence, that is why we are fatter than most other developed nations, that is why so many of us STILL SMOKE, etc. I say until they outlaw all the other dangerous things Americans do on a daily basis I will continue to text and drive.
Your "freedom to do dangerous things" ends where my Right To Live begins. The moment your actions put another person's life at risk, you automatically forfeit that freedom.
"I text and drive all the time..."
Spoken like a true brick.
Ok, and if I happen to see using your cell while driving I will exercise my "Freedom in America to do dangerous things" and broadside you -- hopefully your freedom will have kept you from wearing a seat belt.
Gotta love that freedom thingy.
Psst...When you are out in public it's not all about you.
Multitasking = Doing 2 or more things, poorly, at the same time. Even talking on your cellphone while driving delays your reaction time to that of a slightly drunk driver (0.08 %). Texting while driving delays reaction times further--it is highly variable, from bad to awful (in an unscientific study done by Car & Driver, many years ago, one driver had reaction times that varied between 2 and 4 SECONDS, while another was just somewhat worse than while talking on the cellphone).
drive like your life depends on it cus it does
For all the complaining about texting and driving, or talking on the phone and driving, we continually overlook what may be an even bigger distraction committed constantly by those we depend on (or are supposed to depend on) the most: our state and local police - most of them have laptops in their vehicles, and they use them - while driving! What could be a bigger distraction than this double standard!
i say yep, let 'em. maybe one day others doing the same doltish things will be cognizant enough to stop doing these foolish things as an example of what NOT to do while driving. only the unbelievably stupid attempt this kind of foolish/suicidal junk while they're doing something that without proper attention is extremely foolhardy.
Wow. Turns out Americans are a lot dumber than most other people in the world. Who woulda thunk it? I mean, it isn't like we cut taxes for the rich so we wouldn't have the money to conduct the war we started by lying to the people about it, resulting in thousands of our young military being killed and tens of thousands missing a limb or two or more, and then eliminating all the restrictions on the financial industry that were put in place after the Great Depression thereby causing virtual bankruptcy for the country. There's more of course but there's only so many hours in the day. Nah, we're not dumb. Greedy, ruthless, and supremely arrogant and self destructive maybe.
Oh wait. Maybe that's it.
Let's see. Limit gun magazines to 15 rounds or regulate texting?