naladahc | tripping along the golden path

Study: Cell Phone Use Ages Young Drivers (ABC)

A report from the University of Utah says when motorists between 18 and 25 talk on cell phones, they drive like elderly people moving and reacting more slowly and increasing their risk of accidents.

"If you put a 20-year-old driver behind the wheel with a cell phone, his reaction times are the same as a 70-year-old driver," said David Strayer, a University of Utah psychology professor and principal author of the study. "It's like instant aging."

What the researchers failed to observe was that seeing people driving while on their cell phones also increases the probability of my reacting like an asshole to them.

The only silver lining to the new research is that elderly drivers using a cell phone aren't any more of a hazard to themselves and others than young drivers. Previous research suggested older drivers may face what Strayer described as a "triple whammy."

Ok. That does it. I'm going back to work on my Phd and I'm going to repeat these tests but only with people over 70 who are 1) driving, 2) talking on a cell phone, 3) listening to Prodigy on an iPod, and 4) putting on cosmetics.

I'll be able to provide data on STATING THE FUCKING OBVIOUS!!!!!