March 28 2012
Recognizing a Distracted Driver
Tagged Under : car accident, cell phone, distracted driver, MRI, personal injury attorney
Cell phones, blue tooths and even T.V. sets are in almost every car on the road, these are all forms of distracted driving. Cell phone manufacturers and auto manufacturers have developed devices that may help alleviate the problem of driving distraction. The issue is safety on the road. Distracted driving is a dangerous behavior that has caused and will cause more serious car accidents. Most people ignore the distraction while driving despite the known risk. It is too late when they have a car accident.
A driver talking to a passenger is distracted. When a driver is driving while using a cell phone, his vision and reaction time are compromised by the brain’s mental images of who he is talking to. He is cognitively distracted.
A University study, cited by David Teater, Senior Director of Transportation Strategic Initiatives for the National Safety Council states that by using magnetic resonance imagery (MRI), as much as 37 percent of the brain’s resources can be diverted from driving while conversing on a phone.
A single source can turn off a driver’s mental images and can let him turn his head and mind to the sound. One solution could be the use of a magnetic resonance device installed in cars that would measure brain activity. A driver would be warned once a distraction occurs. If the warning is ignored, the conversation would be terminated. In other words the call would disconnected.
Another suggestion is to require hands-free users to install devices that indicate their cellphone is engaged to other drivers on the road. These devices include several small, flashing, yellow warning lights that are visible from all sides. Law enforcement can act if the phone user is driving in a distracted manner. In this way, the people around can be warned to be cautious in the presence of these distracted drivers. This would also make it easier for police to enforce those no texting laws.
The release of new devices and gadgets will keep coming. As a personal injury attorney, I am not sure any of these are the real answer. A total ban may be the only solution. Is this idea to close to Hal from 2001:A space odyssey? Are we that personally unresponsible as a society that we need this technology to restrict our use of cell phones and other gadgets while behind the wheel?



