If that report was true to life, all the police officers that I know who have to constantly use phone and radio comms when on normal road patrol duties, let alone on blue's and two's, driving at speed, would be constantly crashing due to being "under the influence" of something akin to having had a few pints. Also the Advanced traffic officers who are trained to tactical pursuit level, using comms whilst driving at very high speeds, would certainly be having a constant stream of crashes if that report was true.
Lizzie
I think you have misunderstood the point
as drunk drivers are not "constantly crashing" either! The reports identify the effect of using a phone and show it is similar, and in many cases worse, than driving at 80mg/100ml. I think all will agree that drunk drivers are at greater risk of accident - so are those using mobile phones.
To use the reports as a blanket judgement that using phones is as dangerous as driving whilst "under the influence" is just plain stupid and wrong. 
Lizzie
Unfortunately I think you are misquoting me and then saying the misquote is incorrect. My original comment was "Even using a hands free phone is
somewhat similar to being on the alcohol limit." and I objected when Andy B called me a liar. He isn't man enough to apologise.
There are many similar reports. For example the Institute of Advanced Motorists commissioned research in 2012 which showed:
- when sending and receiving messages through Facebook reaction times were slowed by 37.6% and participants were unable to respond as quickly to the car in front changing speed gradually;
- texting slowed reaction times by 37.4%;
- hands free mobile phone usage slowed reaction times by 26.5%;
- alcohol above the driving limit in England and Wales but below 100mg per 100ml blood slowed reaction times by 6-15%;
- These figures show that even hands free conversations can be more dangerous than driving with alcohol in the system.
The other report I cited originally was A comparison of the cell phone driver and the drunk driver. Strayer, D. L., Drews, F. A., & Crouch, D. J. (2006) Human factors, 48, 381-391 It concluded:
- Motorists who talked on either handheld or hands-free cell phones drove slightly slower, were 9 percent slower to hit the brakes, displayed 24 percent more variation in following distance as their attention switched between driving and conversing, were 19 percent slower to resume normal speed after braking and were more likely to crash. Three study participants rear-ended the pace car. All were talking on cell phones. None were drunk.
- Drivers drunk at the 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level drove a bit more slowly than both undistracted drivers and drivers using cell phones, yet more aggressively. They followed the pace car more closely, were twice as likely to brake only four seconds before a collision would have occurred, and hit their brakes with 23 percent more force. “Neither accident rates, nor reaction times to vehicles braking in front of the participant, nor recovery of lost speed following braking differed significantly” from undistracted drivers, the researchers write. [None rear-ended the pace car]
Everyone apart from me in this thread is giving their personal opinions and they are welcome to have them. Some people are honestly of the opinion the earth is flat and they shout down anyone who contradicts them (
https://wiki.tfes.org/Flat_Earth_Society). I think we will all agree they are cranks. As an aside I loved the "proof" given by the guy who flew thousands of miles with a spirit level on his lap and concluded that, as the level showed horizontal at both the start and end of the journey, this was absolute proof the earth was flat.
No-one has cited anything,
other than their opinion, to contradict what I stated. So, the question remains:
Should I believe opinions from people who have not done any research in the matter and who are dragging up their personal prejudices and publishing them in the
Omega Owners Forum General Discussion Area? Andy B was unable to substantiate
his opinion when asked.
Or should I believe well qualified, doctorate level scientists and psychologists who have conducted actual experiments across the world with drivers in simulators and who have published their findings in peer-reviewed papers in internationally recognised journals?
I know whom I choose to believe.
