Talking and driving adding to your commute?

The study showed many trends among drive-talkers. Interestingly, talking while driving actually slows you down on average of two miles per hour. While this is good for some of us, it adds up to longer commute times for others. In heavy traffic, it can take a drive-talker three percent longer to reach his or her destination, two percent longer in medium traffic. Hate tailgaters? Drive-talkers reportedly more likely to tailgate, and will change lanes — the smart alternative — 20 percent less. Why? According to the conductor of the research, David Strayer, psychology professor at the University of Utah, it’s that the brain is overloaded and cannot process all of the tasks at hand. This slows down reactions and makes drivers distracted. Of course, the study shouldn’t be taken at face value. He used 36 students in simulators, which is a far stretch from adults driving on real roads. There was also no mention of whether the subjects were using handsets or headsets.

“We found that when people are on the phone, the amount of information they are taking in is significantly reduced… People were missing things, like cars swerving in front or sudden lane changes. We had at least three rear-end collisions,” Strayer said.

[U News Center]]]>