How often do you see students driving? And of these students, do you often see dangerous maneuvers? How often are they involved in crashes? How often do these accidents involve cell phones?
Is there a significant different between talking on a cell phone while driving and texting while driving?
I assume by students you mean 16 to 20 year old drivers or what we often refer to as our youthful drivers. There are a significant number of youthful drivers in Fairfax County. These drivers, by virtue of their age and thus minimal driving experience, are involved in a greater percentage of crashes for their age category than older, more experienced drivers. It is difficult to say how many of these crashes involve cell phone use. While we suspect the number is high, it is often difficult to prove as we often rely on self reporting for this determination. Few drivers, youths or adults, will readily admit that they were distracted by a phone when they crashed, but often state something similar to “I just didn’t see him (the other vehicle)”. Certainly there is a difference between talking on a cell phone and driving and texting and driving, although both practices are dangerous. In order to text, the driver’s eyes are taken off the road, as well as one or both hands. When talking on a cell phone and driving, one hand may be taken off the steering wheel and your eyes may remain on the road, but your concentration is still diverted to the conversation you are having. Studies have shown that the concentration of a young driver is disrupted significantly by participating in a cell phone conversation and slows their response time to that of a 70 year old.