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 Texting by novice drivers raises the chances of an accident almost
four-fold, the authors of a new position statement point out. But
they say new laws, combined with public education, could help
eradicate this unnecessary risk on the roadways.
“I was surprised that statistically the risks, given the little hard
data we have, are comparable or worse than those of individuals who
are driving under the influence,” said Dr. Kevin Sherin, director of
the Florida Department of Health in Orange County and lead author of
the recommendations published in the American Journal of Preventive
Medicine.
The new recommendations focus on teens because they text or Internet
browse nearly twice as much as adults. A recent study found that
drivers with less than two years’ experience are eight times more
likely to crash if they use a cell phone, and seven times more
likely if they reach for a cell phone (see Reuters Health story of
January 1, 2014, here: http://bit.ly/19F1LID).
Their risk of crashing increases 3.9 times by sending or receiving
texts or using the Internet while driving, the same study found. Of
drivers under 20 years old, 11 percent involved in fatal vehicle
crashes said they were distracted and nearly one in five said those
distractions came from using a cell phone.
Distractions played a role in 17 percent of motor vehicle crashes in
2011 and 3,331 deaths, according to the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration. Cell phones were involved in 12 percent of
the deaths.
“I have personally observed my teens sending texts and admitting
they were driving . . . despite my safety warnings and my own public
health, preventive medicine and public safety awareness and special
knowledge,” said Sherin, whose children are now in their 20s.
“It certainly did make me interested in effecting (change in) state
and national policy,” said Sherin, who also teaches at the Florida
State University College of Medicine and the University of Central
Florida College of Medicine in Tallahassee.
The recommendations include state bans against texting and driving,
public relations campaigns about the dangers, beefed up penalties
for violations and educating future drivers when they apply for
licenses. Primary care doctors and parents should also work at
explaining the dangers of texting while driving to adolescents,
starting at age 15, the authors say.
They added that more research is needed on the role of texting in
distracted driving, and on effective educational tools, ad campaigns
and how best to counsel patients against it.
According to the Governors Highway Safety Administration, 14 states
have banned handheld cell phone use for all drivers, 38 states and
Washington, D.C. prohibit cell phone use for new drivers, 20 states
and D.C. prohibit cell phone use for school bus drivers and 44
states have banned texting while driving. Some states use primary
enforcement laws for the infractions and others secondary
enforcement laws.
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“I personally think the penalties for texting and driving should be
as harsh as those for driving under the influence,” Sherin said.
“The risks are similar.
Television ads in after-school time slots (like the ads against
drugs and alcohol) could highlight the dangers of texting while
driving for teens, the ACPM committee said.
Dr. Linda Hill, clinical professor in the Department of Family and
Preventive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, told
Reuters Health she agrees with the recommendations but thinks they
should have also focused on the dangers of hands-free and hand-held
cell phone use while driving. Hill was not involved in the
recommendations, though she is a member of the ACPM.
Employers also need to be involved since they often expect employees
to answer their phones, even while driving, said Hill, who studies
distracted driving and has launched several driver safety programs,
including one for businesses.
In a 2011-2012 survey of 5,000 college students in California, Hill
found 90 percent were texting and 90 percent talking on the phone
while driving. The survey also found that 50 percent sent texts
while driving on the freeway.
“We thought that was pretty scary,” Hill said. “What shocked us was
that 46 percent of the kids thought they were capable of distracted
driving but thought only 8 percent of other drivers were.”
That unwarranted self-confidence in multitaskers is common,
according to Zhen Joyce Wang at the Center for Cognitive and Brain
Sciences, The Ohio State University. She told Reuters Health that
texting while driving can be particularly dangerous.
“It is because the capacities demanded by the tasks are more than
what a person can typically afford,” said Wang, who has published
several studies on distracted driving. “We found both behavioral and
eye movement (indicating visual attention) evidence that suggest
texting and driving could be more dangerous than making phone calls
while driving,” Wang said in an email.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1uHC58a American Journal of Preventive
Medicine, published online Sept. 10, 2014.
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