What is most distracting while driving?

[alkaline9]

What do you think is the most distracting "normal activity" that you could do that could negatively affect your driving?

This is a mental challenge in response to a poll on being able to drive while on the cell phone. If you can think of a good one, lets hear it! Now, I've done many things while driving that I probably shouldn't have, like solving the rubiks cube, changing clothes, trying to dislodge ice from my wiper by sticking 1/2 my body out the window, etc, etc. While these may be more distracting than some of the poll choices, I don't consider them "normal" activities.

(Note: I'm not going to put intoxication, since that is obviously very bad.)

Thanks for participating!

[AngryAmish]

1. sex with mouth

[alkaline9]

12. I wouldn't consider that "normal", but maybe I drive alone too often...lol

[Warren DeMontague]

25. Giving or receiving?

Giving while driving could be pretty tricky.

[alkaline9]

31. I could be snarky and say... don't knock it til you try it...

...but I'm afraid you wouldn't make it past the attempt, and that's no fun.

[Warren DeMontague]

36. I did a lot of weird shit in my day...

But on this I bow to your wider experience. The logistics there kinda boggle the mind.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. Daydreaming.

I say outlaw imagination.

[alkaline9]

13. at least the car companies haven't aided your daydreaming by...

...including a daydreaming box in your car. Unlike the radio, the brain doesn't come standard with new cars. Would be neat if they did though!!

[MadBadger]

3. RW talk radio - Limbaugh/Hannity/Beck

[alkaline9]

14. NPR, Air America, or CDs for me... why let the RW radio distract you?

[MadBadger]

15. It's a joke. Funny, haha.

[alkaline9]

19. wasn't sure if you were in an area with nothing but Rush radio.... yuck!

[pdxmom]

4. Children. N/T

[Demeter]

37. Especially Whining (or for teens, nagging) Ones!

[Reverend_Smitty]

5. I'd say it's a toss-up between eating and daydreaming

I'm not talking about sneaking a fry out of the bag on the way home but trying to consume an entire meal while driving. I know people who do it, especially those who work on the road, but it just seems like a dangerous thing to attempt. As for daydreaming, that goes without explanation...

[alkaline9]

16. daydreaming is worse I think, at least eating isn't intense mentally

[BurtWorm]

6. Preparing dinner.

[alkaline9]

22. I haven't tried that yet, you do it often?

[BurtWorm]

35. Once was enough.

;)

[alkaline9]

45. you lived to tell about it, so it can't be all bad :-)

[KansDem]

7. eaten meals...

I've eaten regular meals, not just snacks or drinks, while driving due to time constraints.

[WI_DEM]

8. my pet peeve is talking on the cell phone while driving

[MethuenProgressive]

9. Talking on a cell even *with* a hands free device. Hang up and drive!

"Talking on a cell phone without a hands free device." is stupid, not just deangerous.

[Ron Green]

Agreed. It may be even *more* dangerous with the hands-free, because

it gives a false sense of safety. The problem is not where are the hands, it's where is the mind.

[alkaline9]

11. are any of the other activities "stupid" too? nt

[frazzled]

10. Trying to dodge cabs, buses, bicyclists, and wayward pedestrians

I've developed a total fear of driving in the city lately, because there is so much to do in trying to avoid all the renegade taxis pulling over in front of you and pedestrians darting out against the light, and bicylicsts coming up in your blind spot on the right--all at once, usually--that I'm afraid in trying to avoid them all I will miss something else and ram the car ahead of me. I simply can't process that much mishegas at once.

[WinkyDink]

17. Other: Looking down for something dropped, or on the passenger seat.

[seabeyond]

18. kids fighting in the backseat of the car is the worse for me.

everything about it pulls me away from my driving. others come in second like looking for something in car. generally distracted as a whole, not focused on the driving. the phone is nearer to the bottom of distractions and i dont like to talk on cell phone driving and do it rarely and just a short call.

[Greyskye]

55. tell me about it!

About 12 or so years ago, I had bought a brand new car. About a month or so after I bought it, I was on my morning commute to work. While at a stop light, I noticed the woman in the car ahead of me trying to discipline her kids in the back seat. Somehow or other, she managed to put her car into reverse. Cars were lined up behind me, I had no recourse but to lay on the horn.

It's amazing how much speed she managed to pick up in about 15 feet, before she plowed into me. :banghead:

[TahitiNut]

20. Anything that diverts one's attention from THERE and THEN.

By far, the most essential habit when driving is the be in THAT place at THAT TIME. It's called "being present." Thinking about some other time or some other place is putting one's life (and the lives of others) at unnecessary risk.

IMHO, we'd all be far better off if we learned the "here and now" kind of meditation instead of, in effect, pretending that time during driving was somehow a waste. Indeed, the general mental health of the population would be far btter if people merely comprehended that suggestion before rejecting it ... but we tend to discard such notions our of habit rather than comprehension.

Call it the "Zen of Driving." :shrug:

[alkaline9]

29. not a bad idea, I do in fact love to JUST drive...

...however it seems like even if people can enjoy JUST driving, it doesn't mean they will.

If you can enjoy driving AND listen to the news/music, why not right?

Now if you can drive while listening to the radio and eating why not?

If you can listen, eat, talk on the cell, rubberneck at everything, do your makeup, and daydream all while driving... well, I hope that you're not on the same road as me.

You have a great point about the here and now of driving. Operating such a powerful piece of machinery, especially at high speeds, is a huge responsibility. Unfortunately I don't think we'll ever be able to clear our minds long enough to actually JUST drive.

[Lars39]

21. One thing that I find extremely distracting,

is driving behind someone at night that has a movie playing in a dvd player.
I have to consciously fight to not look at it..

[alkaline9]

32. strangely I know exactly what you mean...

...even when passing a big bus that happens to have a video playing its hard to peel your eyes away. Weird!!

[Rude Horner]

23. Driving near the beach

I'm ok as long as someone doesn't stop abruptly in front of me. :evilgrin:

[onethatcares]

24. I drive a pickup truck and women with short skirts

distract the hell out of me.

[Az]

26. Anything that takes your eyes off the road is immediately at the top of the list

Following that would be activities that engage the brain and in particular the visual centers of the brain such as talking on a cell phone (hands free or not).

The length of time of engagement also plays a factor. If you glance away you are completely impaired during the time. But if it is brief enough the loss of focus becomes statistical noise. But long term activities that engage the mind more actively become increasingly dangerous the longer the process takes.

[ellisonz]

27. According to AAA:

http://www.aaafoundation.org/pdf/DistractionsInEverydayDriving.pdf
Although only 3.5 percent of Pennsylvania crashes were identified as involving a
distracted driver (compared to 8.3% of drivers in crashes on the CDS datafile), the
hierarchy of distracting events was very similar, with events outside the vehicle leading the list, followed by adjusting the radio or audio system controls, and other occupants in the vehicle. Even in the more recent Pennsylvania data, cell phone use was identified in just 5.2 percent of the distracted driving crashes. The Pennsylvania data also included information on whether the identified distraction was a primary or non-primary contributory factor, information that is not available on the CDS data. Based partly on these findings, the Pennsylvania Commission concluded that, “A statutory or regulatory restriction on specific driver distractions does not yet appear to be warranted based upon available data” (Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission, 2001).
--------

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has estimated that
driver inattention or distraction is responsible for 25% to 30% of police-reported traffic crashes, or an estimated 1.2 million crashes per year (Sundeen, 2002; Shelton, 2001). This study performed for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is one of only a few studies identified in the literature to examine the full range of distractions contributing to crashes. It is also believed to be the first to collect real-world driving data on the frequency and duration of these distractions and measures of their effects on driving performance.

-------

Altogether, excluding any time spent conversing with other passengers in the vehicle, drivers were engaged in some form of potentially distracting activity up to 16.1 percent of the total time that their vehicles were moving (assuming no overlap among the various activities). Eating and drinking (including preparing to eat or drink and holding food in one’s hands) headed the list at 4.6% of the total time vehicles were in motion. This was followed by internal distractions at 3.8%, and external distractions and smoking (each at 1.6%). Completing the list were manipulating audio controls (1.4%), using a cell phone (1.3%), other occupant distractions(0.9%), reading or writing (0.7%), and grooming (0.3%). Again, both
event frequency and duration factored into these overall results.

--------

It has long been recognized that drivers themselves cause the vast majority of crashes.Indiana University’s landmark, in-depth crash causation study conducted in the mid-1970s revealed that human factors (including improper lookout, excessive speed, inattention,improper evasive action, and internal distraction) were probable causes in 93%of crashes, environmental factors in 34%, and vehicular factors in 13% (Treat, Tumbas,et al., 1979). The NHTSA has estimated that driver inattention or distraction is responsiblefor 25% to 30% of police-reported crashes, or an estimated 1.2 million crashes per year (Sundeen, 2002; Shelton, 2001).

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http://www.aaafoundation.org/pdf/DistractionsInEverydayDriving.pdf

But I'm just playing games with statistics right? :hi:

[alkaline9]

38. cool study!

I wonder if the number of cell phone related distraction accidents would be larger if more people used them in the car. What I'm getting at is.... EVERY car has things outside of it while in motion, some of which could be distracting. Almost every car has some form of radio. But not every car always has passengers or cell phones. I wonder if there is any data to show how distracting those factors actually are since they aren't always present. It would almost seem that taking that into account might show they are more distracting than other activities... but who knows?!?

[TahitiNut]

40. Would you care to hazard a guess at how much cell phone use has increased in the last 7 years?

Using surveys and studies conducted 6 years ago, based on data gathered over the preceding 1-5 years, doesn't reflect the explosion of cell phone use while driving, imho. Virtually all cars have radios and fast food has been around for decades. If the studies had presented a rate in comparison to the rate at which cell phones were even used, then the comparisons between the kinds of distractions would attain far greater validity. As it is, they're merely harbingers of something coming. After all, the same studies done ten years earlier probably wouldn't even detect cell phone use as a factor. Furthermore, the studies cited wouldn't include 'texting' as a factor, either. I shudder to think how much worse it'll get with more and more multifunctional devices like the iPhone.

For me, an iconic moment was when I observed a driver tooling down one of our more heavily-traveled surface strees - five lanes in each direct - going about 40 mph in a huge SUV, with a cellphone in her left hand and gesturing with her right hand! (Would it be racist of me to suggest she might've been Italian?) IMHO, she's an accident waiting to happen.

I've even seen 12-year-old kids on bicycles, riding through a residential intersection (with light traffic) - talking on a cell phone! Ahhh... the drivers of tomorrow!

[ellisonz]

48. Again, it is a question of personal responsibility.

I think if anything since work weeks have generally increased we're seeing more eating and grooming than ever before. There are always exceptional incidents but the fact of the matter is that cell phones are no more of a distraction than a cup of coffee or a crying baby, and yet the hysterics surrounding those two are suspiciously absent. Bottom line: there are bad drivers and blanket statements of this variety are generally inaccurate. I blame the parents! <snark>

Edit: Driver study: Cell phones not top distraction

From Patty Davis
CNN Correspondent
Wednesday, August 6, 2003 Posted: 3:35 PM EDT (1935 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Nearly all U.S. drivers are distracted at some point behind the wheel, according to a driver study released Wednesday.

The study, prepared by University of North Carolina researchers for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, used cameras placed inside the cars of 70 volunteers to watch their driving behavior. Results gathered from a randomly selected three-hour span for each driver indicate that, despite the emphasis in recent months on the dangers of driving and talking on cell phones -- those phones are not the top distraction. (Interactive: Results of the study)

Reaching and leaning inside the car is the most common distraction: More than 97 percent of drivers do it, according to the study. In addition, the study found 91.4 percent manipulate the car radio; 71.4 percent eat and drink, and 77.1 percent talk with a passenger. Only 30 percent use cell phones while driving, the report says.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TRAVEL/08/06/distracted.drivers/index.html

[aikoaiko]

28. There was a study released last year that covered much of this...

...and their results were that almost all these activities/distractions significantly overwhelmed cognitive load and contributed to errors in driving.

But I have yet to see the actual study or data. so :shrug:

It might have been done by some insurance institute in conjunction with a university....any links or references would be appreciated.

[LostInAnomie]

30. My incessant masturbating.

INCESSANT MASTURBATING!

[alkaline9]

39. I've gotten good at that, doesn't distract me anymore lol

[LostInAnomie]

42. It makes me sleepy

:patriot:

[PurityOfEssence]

33. The worst is making an elective phone call

It's just ridiculous. Here in L.A., the only thing I can say that's not vehement is that my driving skills have been sharpened by the selfish idiocy of compulsive yakkers.

On the road, one's responsibility is to drive. Those who don't see this are selfish or oblivious.

The number of times I've saved myself from near-fatal or at least ruinous collisions on the streets of this metropolis are too numerous to list. Are these phone calls important? I SERIOUSLY doubt it. In most of these garrulous self-indulgent sprees, the offender doesn't even know how reckless he/she has been.

To take a call when on a freeway with no congestion is one thing. To make a "hi, what's up" call when making a 7-point turn in a parking lot in an Eff-You-Vee that you don't even make an attempt to properly pilot is sociopathic. Deep within the American psyche is a "fuck you" mentality that disregards others. Arguably, this would be fine if everyone would be held to account for his/her actions, but that isn't the case.

Seemingly easy, driving demands great care and awareness. To force the rest of the world to be at risk of your deadly machine is an extreme responsibility, and to scorn the responsibility of PAYING ATTENTION is deeply ugly.

When on a freeway where there is nothing untoward or distracting, a brief phone call isn't a sociopathic thing. To take a call that's foisted upon one isn't either, but to make an elective call in complex traffic situations is the depth of selfishness.

[alkaline9]

41. I tend to agree that it is selfish to put someone else at risk for your call.

And, we have all seen the "fuck you" mentality on the road. In fact, it pretty much defines Jersey traffic.

[Jonathan50]

34. I rode motorcycles far too long to allow myself to be distracted..

Inattention on a bike means death or serious injury is almost guaranteed.

That being said, I have a very good "autopilot" mode which allows me to drive without consciously thinking about it.

All those years on a bike have taught me to drive in such a manner that even if I was totally invisible I wouldn't get hit anyway.

In my opinion that is the real skill that keeps one from becoming involved in accidents.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm a mind reader because I can often tell what someone is going to do in the car before they do themselves I think. All you really have to do is think of what the absolute stupidest thing that other drivers around you could do is and then prepare for that, because that is what they are very likely to do.

Driving the car is quite easy to learn, what I call "traffic sense" is far more difficult and takes much longer to develop.

That is why the accident rate for teens and young adults is so high, they can drive ok but they have no traffic sense.

All that being said, children fighting in the back seat is probably the single most distracting thing while driving.

DON'T MAKE ME STOP THIS CAR!

[alkaline9]

43. exactly! its all about predicting the worst situations and preparing.

I was fortunate enough to have actually listened to my parents when they taught me the basics of driving. Some common sense stuff that really helps your mind organize the traffic dangers while driving.

Don't even get me started on motorcycles! I won't say all, but MANY in NJ ride motorcycles like they have less than 24 hours to live. I always rode my motorcycle carefully, and found out that even when you're driving safely others aren't. I don't think its worth the risk to ride a motorcycle in a place like NJ, let alone how most riders I see whizzing up and down the highway cut in and out between other cars.

[Reverend_Smitty]

50. I don't know how many times I've seen assholes zipping in and out of traffic...

on their motorcycles on the turnpike or parkway, I think the worst is on 95 going into Philly. I gotta wonder if some of those people have a serious death wish

[alkaline9]

53. its not death that scares me, its being maimed and living!!!

[Reverend_Smitty]

54. quite true...

although judging by the way I've seen these people drive, living won't be much of an issue

[Jonathan50]

56. The thing is, that on a good sport bike..

What we used to call "cafe racers" and built ourselves..

Cars going the speed limit or even well above are like a slowly moving obstacle course.

The only times I wrecked on a bike were when I hit loose gravel or fallen leaves, never even came close to getting hit by a car.

My first bike was a Yamaha RD350, a little two stroke twin street bike. That sucker was a handful because it made a lot of power for such a little bike and the power came on all of a sudden at about 3500 rpm. If you weren't careful you would flip right over backward before you could close the throttle.

I found out pretty quickly that the RD would corner until my elbows almost dragged and then I was addicted to adrenaline. The RD stood for "race developed" and it was the closest thing to a pure road racing bike you could buy at the time.

[Chipper Chat]

44. Those overbright "blue" headlights coming at you.

They actually give me a headache.

[alkaline9]

46. especially when you're high... I mean.... tired! :-)

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

47. Any Votes For Nagging Wife Yet?

:rofl:

Other than that, I'd say attempting to read other people's bumper stickers.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

49. I'm surprised that putting on makeup hasn't appeared on this thread. I've seen people doing this.

It requires hands to be occupied with a non driving task, and visual attention on the mirror instead of the road. Not a good combination.

[alkaline9]

52. I thought about including that with the "looking at yourself" choice...

...but I think simply looking at yourself in the mirror is more common than actually putting on makeup. Although I have seen many people attempt the makeup thing, most times its while stopped at a light. But damn is it scary when you see someone driving and doing that!!!

[stirlingsliver]

51. Reading Bumper Stickers

I vote for reading bumper stickers.

I'm guilty of trying to get close enough to another car to be able to read the bumper stickers on it.

And I get really angry when I see some stupid rightwing bumper sticker....and I sometimes (not always) race ahead to see what sort of moron would have a stupid bumper sticker on his car.