Study: Drivers who use cell phones cause traffic to slow down

That's according to a team at the University of Utah, which found that cell-phone-using drivers -- even ones with the hands-free sets -- tend to drive more slowly and fail to switch lanes when appropriate. Loved this quote from the head researcher:

"That S.O.B. on the cell phone is slowing you down and making you late," states lead researcher Dave Strayer, a professor of psychology.

Comments

[Bearman]

That's right, theres a lot of SOB's out there who haven't got a clue when it comes to driving and jibbering jabbing on a cell phone.
I only wish I had my old beat up 4X$ pickup truck. I would use that as a attention getter, when I come across some fool on a cell phone and not paying attention to driving..I'd smash them, smash them hard, run the sucker right off the road into a ditch or tree or something. I bet that would get their attention.
Nothing like looking in the rear view mirror and seeing some puke off to the side of the road, out of my way, looking at their wrecked mangled car and wondering what the hell happened. I'd be riding on down the road with a big smile on my face.

[Bearman]

That's right, theres a lot of SOB's out there who haven't got a clue when it comes to driving and jibbering jabbing on a cell phone.
I only wish I had my old beat up 4X$ pickup truck. I would use that as a attention getter, when I come across some fool on a cell phone and not paying attention to driving..I'd smash them, smash them hard, run the sucker right off the road into a ditch or tree or something. I bet that would get their attention.
Nothing like looking in the rear view mirror and seeing some puke off to the side of the road, out of my way, looking at their wrecked mangled car and wondering what the hell happened. I'd be riding on down the road with a big smile on my face.

[cellphone user]

That sounds kind of scary.

[G]

I'd buy ya a beer, Bearman!

Take back the roads!!!

Ban....cellphones.....NOW!!!

The backlash has begun.

[Don Beacham aka Bossman]

You darn a right, we need to take back the roads. Those pukefaces, need to hang up the phone and drive, otherwise get the hell off the road.

[jeano]

Bearman, I love it when you growl!

[bald eddie]

Bearman sounds like one mean muther not to mess with, sort of like all of those action heros we see in the movies.

[Zorro68]

This is what I love about this studies, they tell you stuff you already know, just make it sound "scientific"......

[Factman]

Just ban "Soccer Moms". and you kill 50 % of the problem.

[Mickey Mouse]

"Study: Drivers who use cell phones cause traffic to slow down."

Drivers who use cell phones cause more traffic accidents...

Matter-of-fact, they should pull over if blabbling is more important than driving.

[kmb]

They had to have an actual STUDY?

[CJ]

Now that we know what we already knew, maybe they should do a "study" on elderly drivers. I love the elderly, but not on the road. Most of them are inconsiderate drivers who believe they truely own the road. Slow driving in the fast lane. Sudden lane changes without signal. Driving with the signal on for miles. The list could go on and on.

[Sasquach]

Maybe if we're lucky they'll start doing cell phone checkpoints too!/sarcasm

[Elmer Fudd]

Just ban the idiots in 4X4 trucks. They cause more accidents when the weather gets bad anyway.

Men who drive 4x4 either have no penis or no brains or both.

[unnamed assailant]

Bearman are you releated to Quad Queen, Jonothan or Nick cause it's obvious you've got the same DNA? (duck DNA).

Bearfarts I really think killing someone over the use of their cell phone is a little much. Too much video games for you.

Is there any minor offense in KC that you crazy people think requires lessof a punishment than being tasered, jailed, beaten, executed or givien life without?

No wonder the whole country makes fun of KCMO. Jesus what a bunch of c*******. You make the entire of population Alabama look like Harvard grads.

[Imprtnrd]

To the study..........WELL DUH!!!!!!!!!!! And how much money did this "study" cost the taxpayer???? STUPID!

[Jonathan]

Ahhh.....I can't even imagine one day without a troll in here.....It would be so nice.....UA, Tell me again why you are hiding in Mexico? I am surprised your two paper cups and a roll of dental floss is giving you a fast enough internet connection to post your ignorance.....

[Jonathan]

"Jesus what a bunch of c*******."

Did you really just toss out a racial slur?
I am calling JJ and AS right this second!!!
Always knew you were a racist.

[James Hart]

Guys, please don't use anything that could be taken as slur.

[unnamed assailant]

An intelligent person probably have agreed that running people off the road over the use of a cell phone is a horrible thought, even in jest. But not you.

Ah Jonothan self-procalimed genius. Hiding in the Caribbean? Lol. Most people dream that they could be here. Only an idiot like you would think that living in the Caribbean would be some type of down thing. Although I have to admit it is raining and the temp is only 78f. presently.

Troll? You have no idea how much fun it is to pull you and QQ's and Nicks chain. You are sooooooo predictable. No matter what happens it takes about as much to get a rise out of you as 11 year old male looking at porno.

You are all tough guys, cop defenders, ready to pull the trigger on the first bad guy out there and come up with some of the dumbest things since the Marx Brothers (and they were gettting paid for it).

My mental powers are so great, that now the three of you are convinced that there are like four or five of me posting. LOL

Now go back to Quik-Trip and make those frosty's.

[Jonathan]

Quik-Trip has frosties? I thought Wendy's had frosties!

"An intelligent person probably have agreed that running people off the road over the use of a cell phone is a horrible thought, even in jest. But not you."

I am able to understand jokes, and treat them as such. You are the one that brought my name up in this thread.

"Ah Jonothan self-procalimed genius. Hiding in the Caribbean? Lol. Most people dream that they could be here. Only an idiot like you would think that living in the Caribbean would be some type of down thing. Although I have to admit it is raining and the temp is only 78f. presently."

I like living in the United States of America thank you, almost as much as you like making comments about it and trash talking everything about it.

"You are all tough guys, cop defenders, ready to pull the trigger on the first bad guy out there and come up with some of the dumbest things since the Marx Brothers (and they were gettting paid for it)."

You are the one that thinks you can do everyone else's job better than they can, thinks all cops are part of this evil empire (imagine light saber swooshing around everywhere), and I never once said I thought people should just be shot for no reason, but EVERYONE has a right to defend themselves, and this includes police officers on the job. I am also in 100% favor of capturing and punishing criminals. You always seem to be making some kind of argument about how the criminal is always in the right, guess that is just the difference between US laws and Mexican laws. Up north here, the criminals are the bad guys.

I also find it interesting how much you talk about the police and police corruption in the US when you are living in a country that has some of the worst police corruption and collution with drug gangs....

[Jonathan]

Now....Back on topic. I think that people should use common sense when using their phones and driving, unfortunately we have seen time and time again that this is not the case. I do not like to use my cell phone while I am driving, especially in heavy traffic, but I do. What bothers me is when everyone is driving slow, and 8 out of 10 people you pass are talking on their cell phone, or better yet, they have their cell phone down by the steering wheel trying to type up a 200 word text message and not even looking up at the road for 30 seconds.

[JC]

Were not teaching our children anything by talking while driving, its bad enough to have kids on the rode let alone with a phone they can do without............ ya think?

[Mike]

My god I wonder how much this study cost? I could have done that study after about 10 minutes of driving on I-35 and going 50 mph while the soccer mom or salemsen in front of me was jabbering

[unnnamed assailant]

Jonothan I am not trashing the USA. But there are a lot of low lifes living up there, which is demonstrated everyday in this blog. I am trashing you personally and those that think like you.

By the way the largest number of junkies live in the USA. You guys consume 99% of the worlds drugs. You might want to think if maybe that has something to do with your system.

Your post shows that you need your GED. So go to Wendy's and make your Frosty's. I think the 3 of you guys demonstrate some of the worst there is to show in the USA. No I can't stand you. I think you have no education and if you do it went to waste. But mostly you just started jumping on me, because of my polititcal beliefs and now you are going to have to deal with it.

James Hart just FYI I spent a lot of time living in Florida. Down there we all call each other cracker. It ain't like the N word or even close. To us it's a funny word, even when meant in a derogatory manner. I have to say I have seen much, much worse on this blog without it being blocked/deleted whichever applies.

[bigalsbeans]

Jonathan, thanks for getting us back on topic. I agree on the morons with cell phones. Probably 75% of the time when behind someone in the fast lane that shouldn't be there, they are on a cell phone. I agree with Jonathan about using the phone while driving. I use mine when I need to, but also put it down when traffic is heavy, changing lanes, merging, driving on snowy roads, etc. Texting while driving is just plain stupid.

Did UA really just spell Jonathan wrong twice and then call him an idiot? I think maybe he has that backwards.

[DaMone]

2.(n)Troll -A depraved individual who sits in front of a computer all day and posts flames of an idiotic or pseudo-intellectual nature on public forums and private websites. Many of these people actually become emotional about what is said on the afore-said mediums and feel it is their duty to punish those who disagree with them. They too may pursue this object in an obsessive-compulsive manner.

Jonothan - Seriously bro, you're the king of the trolls. You really do suck.

[KC Brougham]

California has a law going into effect mid-year that disallows use of cellphones while driving unless you have a hands off headset.

[KC Brougham]

FYI, probably coming to a theatre near you is outlawing smoking with kids under 18 in the car. California passed that and it went into effect Jan 1.

[Jonathan]

"I am trashing you personally and those that think like you. "

Also known as anyone who doesn't agree with you......

"Did UA really just spell Jonathan wrong twice and then call him an idiot? I think maybe he has that backwards. "

The humorous part is only 2-3 people mispell my name everytime (kinda hard if they actually read my posts since it is listed under each one). UA being 1, DaMone down there being 2, and the now defunct COJ/Biggin was 3. Interesting when they all use the same wording in all of their posts.

Damone, close but incorrect.
Here is from Dictionary.com.....

Troll
2. An individual who chronically trolls in sense 1; regularly posts specious arguments, flames or personal attacks to a newsgroup, discussion list, or in email for no other purpose than to annoy someone or disrupt a discussion. Trolls are recognizable by the fact that the have no real interest in learning about the topic at hand - they simply want to utter flame bait. Like the ugly creatures they are named after, they exhibit no redeeming characteristics, and as such, they are recognized as a lower form of life on the net, as in, "Oh, ignore him, he's just a troll."

I call UA a troll because he seldom actually has anything to say about the thread at all, he just swoops in to make personal attacks and thats it.

[Jonathan]

For example......his first post of this thread.....

"Bearman are you releated to Quad Queen, Jonothan or Nick cause it's obvious you've got the same DNA? (duck DNA).

Bearfarts I really think killing someone over the use of their cell phone is a little much. Too much video games for you.

Is there any minor offense in KC that you crazy people think requires lessof a punishment than being tasered, jailed, beaten, executed or givien life without?

No wonder the whole country makes fun of KCMO. Jesus what a bunch of c*******. You make the entire of population Alabama look like Harvard grads."

[mike]

I hate to pull up behind someone on the phone. They never pull off when the light turns green. They always are slow and cross lane drive as they proceed. If I had a dump truck I would run them over.

[in2ropin]

The study that was completed was probably done by obtaining stats on sites such as this where people waste their time ranting about each other rather than the subject at hand.

I for one who uses his cell phone while driving would prefer it was outlawed. There are many, many other distractions while driving and I too should hang up the phone and make the roads safer for all of us.

[bh]

"California has a law going into effect mid-year that disallows use of cellphones while driving unless you have a hands off headset."

Ok picture this.. Soccer mom gets a call from her teenaged daughter (wait.. that would be a text message), ok her husband wanting to know what's for dinner (fast, frozen, carry out or delivery).. so soccer mom immediately pulls safely to the side of the road: 60mph to zero in about 3 seconds so not to miss the car, sets down her diet Pepsi to take the call, two wheels and half her car still in the lane of traffic, cars swerving to miss her, and she's oblivious to all of it.

Not saying you shouldn't have cell phone laws.. just be sure they include pulling to a "parking lot" not the shoulder, otherwise it will be like running a slalom course getting through all the stopped cars.

[unnamed assailant]

Hey jonathan I stand by that post you quoted. Some of you guys are hateful nuts that wouldn't have the nerve to steal a peanut from a squirrel in real life.

You give me krap. I give it back. That is the way it works. Since you've probably never been in a real fight (I mean outside of fighting with women) you probably don't get that. Outside of Quad Queen and Nick the toughest guy in town, you notice that most people are constantly saying what a piece of work you are?

By the way I am just going to refer to you as Frosty Boy from now on. That way you'll know for sure to whom I am referring. Now go fix me a taco!!

[Jonathan]

"You give me krap. I give it back. That is the way it works. Since you've probably never been in a real fight (I mean outside of fighting with women) you probably don't get that. Outside of Quad Queen and Nick the toughest guy in town, you notice that most people are constantly saying what a piece of work you are?"

Well actually, neither one of those guys has stood up for me. And I don't remember standing up for either one of them, so the only thing connecting us is your imagination. "Most" people are not saying anything. Only a few trolls exist on this blog that make it their daily goal to attack other people and not make any kind of comment about the thread. That would be people like YOU!!!

If you noticed on this thread, I made comments about the topic of the thread....long after you drug my name into the thread before I had even posted. Other people agreed with my opinion about the topic or didn't, but only two trolls in the whole thread personally attacked people for no reason. If that is why you wake up every morning, and it makes you feel better about your life, that is fine. We have differing opinions on almost everything, I am fine with that as well, where I get irked is when you troll into a thread just to attack people. You also judge an entire group of people based off the actions of a few when you have no experience in that area, which I consider ridiculous. If you would just make some thoughtful comments for a change, we probably wouldn't have 75% of the altercations that we do. In the meantime, keep drinking margaritas, playing rent-a-cop in Mexico, and trying to be a Timmy Tough Nuts on the Internet.

[Malcolm]

The penalties should be stiffer for driving while using a cell phone. Maybe MADD can get involved since they have went way overboard on the dwi issue.

[babyjane]

I need someone to explain why talking with a handsfree set is more dangerous than talking to someone in the car with you, especially when a lot of people turn to look at the person who might be next to them or, God forbid, in the back seat.

[kcblogger]

So, let me understand this, James had to get involved when I had a spat with Searching this morning, but with UA and Jonathan, he doesn't do anything. Hmmm, yes indeed, James you definitely run a loose ship when it comes to favorites.

[kcsapps]

I have just one question. What the he## do people have to talk about for hours and hours a day? HANG UP AND DRIVE!

[chuck L.]

Bearman. Put down the coffee and red meat. Funny stuff.

Bearman should dress up like a Pirate and wreck a few cars with ladies on cell phones. After a while (Pavlovian conditioning) he could just use a megaphone. Pull up close to a car with the occupant on the cellphone and just scream ARGH!!! i said----AAARRRRGGGHHH!!! into it and everyone for a couple of blocks would drop their cell phones into a wet lap.

Honey!!! For Chrissakes, Blackbeard is RIGHT BEHIND US!!! GET OFF THE PHONE!!!

[buggley]

Well Da!!

I'm sorry, but this seems a gigantic waste of resource to come to an obvious conclusion.