Recently the fine people at the New England Journal of Medicine published some results they collected from experiments with things like cell phones, driving, and people. You can read the whole article here, or we can just sum up for you the major findings- because we’re good like that. Most of these should not surprise you:
- For the younger drivers (16-17 years old) among us: The risk of a crash or near-miss increased more than sevenfold if these drivers were dialing or reaching for a cellphone and fourfold if they were sending or receiving a text message.
- The risk for an accident also rose for younger drivers if they were reaching for anything, eating, or looking at a roadside object.
- For older drivers (average of twenty years behind the wheel), the only element that really increased the likelihood of an accident was dialing a cell phone.
- Surprisingly, and in contrast with previous studies, merely talking on the phone did not present itself as a dangerous activity. HOWEVER, before you grab that phone and prepare to spend some good quality traffic time reminiscing about the time gas was less than a slice of pizza with one of your friends from high school, you should know that this study did NOT distinguish between handheld and hands-free devices.
Our advice: put it all away. Driving requires much focus and it is usually a good time to escape from all those distractions in our life.
We are always looking out for you. If you are in an accident and want a free consultation, callBergel, Magence, LLP at 416-665-2000. Just don’t call us while you are on the road.