Over & over again, i get warned by my family not to attend my cell while driving.. not that i compose sms or text something, but some calls from professors are just too important.
I ignore this advice saying that i can handle & am too good for this lil distraction & sometimes even dismiss it as too much ado about nothing..
Not until i was asked to play this lil game, which i played twice.. & scored.. well not too bad enough.. alhamduliLLAh :p
(gates missed the first time were 0% too, with an average delay while texting..)
But still not too good either, since real life is sorta different & makes me think i should really rethink my cell strategy from behind the wheel..
Its Distracted_Driver game by NYT to gauge your distraction while you're texting on the road. The game puts you driving on a road having to negotiate a number of toll booths along the way, to see how good you go. And thus it tests your ability to drive through the correct gates without any distractions, and then it makes you write a couple of text messages whilst still having to negotiate the booths.
After you finish the game, you get a comparison of your result with everyone else who has played so far.
P.S; I did see the gray lady the first time but failed the second time..
Digging through some papers i figured that the science of mobile phone use whilst driving is a developing field, with most of the recent research suggesting that you are just as impaired - or more so - if texting or using a hand-held mobile as you are if you are disillusioned or semiconscious (sleepy).
A couple of great resources if you are interested at all:
- SWOV Fact sheet: Use of mobile phone while driving was published in 2008 by The national road safety research institute (SWOV). It contains a great deal of up-to-date research. Their conclusion is that the negative effects of mobile phone use whilst driving are caused by both physical and cognitive distraction. Although physical distraction can be reduced through the use of such aids as handsfree phones and speed dialling, cognitive distraction remains the crucial problem. They conclude that handsfree phones do not have significant safety advantages over handheld phones. They also point towards research suggesting that talking on a mobile phone is associated with cognitive distraction that may undermine pedestrian safety.
- Applied Cognition Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Utah - has published a wealth of research on the impact of using in-car technologies on driving performance and traffic safety. It is well worth a browse of their published articles.
Oh n before i forget, check out the Distracted_Driver game & try it out yourself - if you too are into tech_behind_wheel ailment.
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