DANGERS OF READING AND WRITING MOBILE PHONE TEXT MESSAGES WH

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Letter to Branches




No. 909/11
Ref P19
Date: 28 October 2011

To: All Branches,

Dear Colleagues,

DANGERS OF READING AND WRITING MOBILE PHONE TEXT MESSAGES WHILE DRIVING

Do you text and drive? - If you do, it's extremely dangerous! - So concludes the latest research!

Several published scientific and practical test studies have concluded that text messaging distracts any driver from their primary task. Overall, the studies consistently highlighted the fact that when texting whilst driving, a driver may present a greater accident risk than when at the legal limit for alcohol consumption and drivers should refrain from this dangerous activity. The key element to driving safely is keeping your eyes and your mind on the road. So the conclusions of all these studies are to advise drivers that the next time they are tempted to text, tweet, e-mail, or otherwise type while driving, either ignore the urge or pull over and stop.

In respect of the Law - Texting whilst driving is not permitted if you have to hold the phone to operate it. The fixed penalty for driving whilst using a hand held mobile is a £60 fine and 3 penalty points. Alternatively, the driver can also be prosecuted for careless driving or dangerous driving which carry higher penalties. If a Driver causes a road traffic accident and kills someone in the process, caused by phoning or texting etc that driver can expect a lengthy sentence of imprisonment (e.g. up to 7 years for phoning and worse if you are texting).

A new study has concluded that texting doubles a driver’s reaction time. In this latest international study funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation Researchers at the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University have determined that a driver’s reaction time is doubled when distracted by reading or sending a text message. The study reveals how the texting impairment is even greater than many experts believed, and demonstrates how texting drivers are less able to react to sudden roadway hazards.

In addition to the reaction-time element, researchers also measured each driver’s ability to maintain proper lane position and a constant speed. Major findings further documented the impairment of texting when compared to the controlled driving conditions. Drivers were less able to:

Safely maintain their position in the driving lane when they were texting and their swerving was worse in the open sections of the course than in barreled (coned) sections.

Maintain a constant speed while texting, tending to slow down in an effort to reduce the demand of the multiple tasks. By slowing down, a driver gains more time to correct for driving errors (such as the tendency to swerve while texting). Speed variance was also greater for texting drivers than for non-texting drivers.


The fact that the study was conducted in an actual driving environment is important, the researchers say. While simulators are useful, the dynamics of an actual vehicle are different, and some driver cues cannot be replicated in a simulator.

The total distance covered by each driver in the study was slightly less than 11 miles. In the interest of safety for both participants and the research staff, researchers minimized the complexity of the driving task, using a straight-line course that contained no hills, traffic or potential conflicts other than the construction zone barrels (cones). Consequently, the driving demands that participants encountered were considerably lower than those they would encounter under real-world conditions.

Driver distraction has been an emerging issue in driver safety research and practice over the last few years, this study again emphasises the reasons why organisations requiring their drivers to travel for work purposes should take the issue very seriously as part of their worker health and safety programs."

Statistics from the USA suggest that distracted driving contributes to as much as 20 percent of all fatal crashes, and that Mobile phones constitute the primary source of driver distraction. Researchers point to two numbers to illustrate the magnitude of the texting while driving problem: an estimated 5 billion text messages are sent each day in the USA and at least 20 percent of all drivers have admitted to texting while driving.

The Full 69 page study report "AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF READING AND WRITING TEXT-BASED MESSAGES WHILE DRIVING" is attached and can be read at the following link: http://swutc.tamu.edu/publications/tech ... 0024-1.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A video made by Gwent Police was aired on UK TV as part of a safe driving campaign but cuts introduced by the Tory/Lib.Dem Coalition government axed all funding for such safety campaigns and so it was scraped. However, this powerful video can still be seen at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC3x7K3EOTk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Yours Sincerely


Dave Joyce
CWU National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

[POSTMAN]

Is this a wind up?

[Postman Plodd]

I see at least a dozen peeps per day using their phones, its an even split between white van man and school run mum.
Saw one mother turning a corner into the local school car park, in her chelsea tractor, using her phone, steering one handed with load of kids milling about/crossing the road.

P*sses me off no end.

[POSTMAN]

It's actually gone further than that...
Mums with buggies crossing the road with little johnny in tow.......somewhere.
Cruds in the supermarket with a trolley,was watching one the other day,head on collision avoided as the text was sent.

[DGP1]

What's a text?

[Wessex]

What's a text?

rofl

[Lounge Lizard]

Is this a wind up?

No. I would no more use a mobile phone when driving than drive near or over the alcohol limit.

[andy2007]

Isn't it pathetic, that texting and driving has become such a major problem, that it requires an LTB from the CWU to tell people the obvious: That it's dangerous!?!

[youwot!!!!!]

can't believe there are actual studies about this-what a waste of time and money to tell us what common sense already tells us-its dangerous.

[brothermagrew]

And yet in my own DO I and another happened to view our own ADOM driving a RM van into our yard with his mobile phone nestled between chin and shoulder, who then proceeded to park up between two other RM vans, engine off and stepped out and continued his conversation to the person on the other end of his mobile. Quite the jack the lad is our ADOM continually preaching to us at WTLL briefings that health and safety is of paramount importance and does a futile thing like that. Naturally being the workplace h&s rep i had a few choice words to say to our DOM at our weekly resource meeting where alongside the DOM and workplace IR rep I am invited in to discuss and cover health and safety matters.