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OPINIONS
John Patrick Grace: Stop using your cell phone while driving
Metal meets metal with a sickening crunch as bodies are thrown forward and bruise against the plastic and rubber parts that form the interior of a motor vehicle.
"Oh, no," you say. "I can't believe this!"
You have just had an accident, and you are about to meet the other parties involved, a representative of your local police force and, if things are really bad, some EMS workers with a stretcher.
In most minor accidents, the worst news of all, if you were the driver at fault, comes later. Your insurance premiums will probably head skyward. Heavier bills will come due every month for the next three years to remind you of your errant ways.
Not driving after drinking should go without saying, but there is one other very big thing you can do to prevent accidents: Stop talking on your cell phone while your vehicle is in motion.
I know, I know: It seems so convenient. The perfect form of multi-tasking. But here's the deal: According to a study in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, your risk of an auto accident is four times greater when you are using a phone while driving.
The same study showed that heavy phone users turned out to be involved in twice as many fatal road accidents as light users. What is more, the use of hands-free phone units, either on your ear or with speaker phone from the dashboard, did not reduce the risk at all.
People rationalize their phone chatting by saying, "Well, if I can listen to the radio, why can't I talk on the phone? How is that different from carrying on a conversation with somebody who's riding next to me in the car?"
Studies, however, have shown that there is indeed a difference. In a 2003 study evaluating the driving ability of college students, the subjects missed traffic signals and reacted more slowly to events developing in the road ahead when they were using either a cell phone or a hands-free device. Their driving was less affected when they were listening to the radio or an audio book.
Back to my earlier reference to drunken driving. One study on cell phone use in motor vehicles suggested that the distraction created thereby might be just as bad as driving under the influence. In other words, it is simply not wise behavior.
Personally, I have resolved to pull off the road if I absolutely need to have a conversation with someone while I'm driving anywhere. I've already done so a number of times lately, and I'm hoping that this new behavior becomes a habit. That's my hope for you, my readers, as well.
As the slogan goes, the life you save may be your own.
John Patrick Grace is a book editor and publisher. He lives in Huntington.
