Young People Are Least Likely to Speak Up About Distracted Driving As Passengers

Tuesday, April 17, 2012 :: Staff infoZine

Distracted Driving Design Challenge to Encourage Students to Take Action

 

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/51497/ 

 

 

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

April 03, 2012

"April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and from Virginia to California, the traffic safety community has a simple message for drivers: One Text or Call could Wreck it All."

http://fastlane.dot.gov/2012/04/april-is-distracted-driving-awareness-month.html

I chose this source because it came from the Department of Transportation which I believe to be a trusted source.  I had never heard of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and hope that having it on my blog will help to educate others also.  It is also full of very current statistics that I will be able to use for my final paper.

Oprah's No Phone Zone Pledge

The Oprah Winfrey Show
January 18, 2009

I pledge to make my car a No Phone Zone. Beginning right now, I will do my part to help put an end to distracted driving by committing to drive as responsibly as I can:

423330

Total Pledge Submissions

Read more:  http://www.oprah.com/questionaire/ipledge.html?id=4

Oprah's No Texting Campaign

The Oprah Winfrey Show  |  January 15, 2010

 

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/End-Distracted-Driving 

 

 

I chose this article because, well, it is Oprah!!  I wanted to find out more about what she is doing to help stop distracted driving, if anything, and of course she is.  I hope to find out more about her No Texting Campaign.  This show was in 2010, so I am curious about where the program is now and what type of accomplishments they made over the last couple years.

Obama Bans Cellphone Use by Feds [Take our POLL!]

Federal employees can no longer use their cellphones while driving.

By Emily Main 

 

http://www.rodale.com/cellphones-and-driving?page=0,0 

 

I found this article while researching what was being done about cellphones while driving at the federal level.  "Because of an executive order signed by President Obama late Wednesday evening, federal employees are now banned from using cellphones to call or send text messages while driving federally owned vehicles, using cellphones to conduct federal business while driving private vehicles, or using federally owned cellphones in any manner whether driving public or private vehicles. And more regulation about cell phones and driving may be on the way. A summit in Washington, DC, about distracted driving revealed widespread support for a nationwide ban on behind-the-wheel cellphone use. And that includes headset and hands-free phone use."

I was very excite to see that something was being done!!

CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE

Cell-Phone–Induced Driver Distraction
David L. Strayer and Frank A. Drews
University of Utah

http://www.psych.utah.edu/lab/appliedcognition/publications/cellphone.pdf

This is another article that i found on the University of Utah's site that I found to be very interesting.  It talks about how even hands free driving is not safe.  I chose this article because it comes from a source that I trust and also because it explores another area that I wanted to research for my topic, hands free cell phone use and driver distraction.

From, The Psychology of Learning and Motivation, Volume 54

Cognitive Distraction While Multitasking in the Automobile 
David L. Strayer, Jason M. Watson, and Frank A. Drews

http://www.psych.utah.edu/lab/appliedcognition/publications/distractionmultitasking.pdf 

I chose this  publication because it is a well documented source that I found on the University of Utah, Distracted Driving website.  I trust this source fully and found that this document focuses on multi-tasking and how it affects your driving skills.  This is something that I have always been curious about, since I am a master multi-tasker!  At least I have always thought I was.   I am starting to realize that while multi-tasking might be a great thing in the kitchen or in the office, but most unsafe while driving a vehicle.