Dialing and driving a dangerous mix for teens, study shows

http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-0208010011aug01.story?coll=chi%2Dtechtopheds%2Dhed
By Jim Mateja
Tribune auto reporter
Published August 1, 2002

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Drinking and driving don't mix.
And neither does driving and talking on the cellphone--especially among teenagers.

After a year of research at its accident avoidance lab here, Ford Motor Co. said it found that parents who want to ensure their teen sons and daughters become safer drivers can do so by simply taking away the cellphone. At the lab, Ford has a motion driving simulator, a Taurus bolted to the floor in a studio where you "drive" along a virtual-reality course of interstates.

The goal is to be able to drive through the country without letting distractions get the best of you, from signs that have to be read along the road, to cars in front suddenly slowing down, to vehicles coming up from behind and passing. And while trying to pay attention, you are asked to perform a variety of other tasks, such as using a cellphone, checking your e-mail or tuning the radio to a specific station.
Ford tested drivers age 16 to 65 to learn how teens react versus adults.

"Teens allow about 100 feet, or one second of reaction time, between them and the vehicle ahead, while adults allow about 200 feet, or two seconds. A driver should have at least a two-second gap between himself and the car ahead. One second doesn't allow margin for error," said Jeff Greenberg, technical specialist who heads the lab studies.

In measuring lane violations or wandering into the other lane when talking on the phone and driving, there were no violations when teens or adults used hands-free phones, but 2.5 violations per hour for adults and four violations per hour for teens when using hand-held cellphones.

Teens don't handle multiple tasks well, Greenberg said.
"They are prone to stray out of their lane when trying to do two things at once, such as drive and use a phone."
Another test is to drive the Taurus down the virtual-reality interstate behind a sport-utility vehicle while being asked to make calls on a hand-held cellphone. At the same time, a small car obscured by the sport-ute will veer onto the shoulder or swerve into the passing lane as if the driver is drunk or drugged. An accident waiting to happen, in other words.

"Three percent of the adults tested never saw the car pull out onto the shoulder or passing lane, but 55 percent of the teens never saw the car move out of the lane ahead of them," Greenberg said.

"A teenager can dial up a number on a cellphone twice as fast as an adult, but the problem is that when asked to dial up a number, the teen looks at the phone and becomes oblivious to the road. The teen hasn't learned to share his or her attention. They stare at the phone until they're done, where adults constantly shift attention back and forth between the phone and the road. Teens are faster with gadgets, but inherently less safe," he said.