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Radioactive IT Tech that kills!
Radioactive IT Tech that kills! | Tech that kills! |
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| by Mike Bantick | |
| Thursday, 21 August 2008 | |
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This followed on from the increasing observational data that distracted drivers were increasingly responsible for automobile accidents, including a high profile case where a woman killed a cyclist in 2001. A report in the Melbourne Age detailed some of the findings: “In December 2001, cyclist Anthony Marsh was killed by a motorist sending a text message. Mr Keogh said a woman driver also died last year when she was distracted by her mobile phone and entered an intersection when it was not her right of way. On July 2, an 18-year-old from Geraldton, in Western Australia, was jailed for 12 months after he let a friend sitting in the front passenger seat steer the car he was driving so he could read a text message. The car ran into a tree - the friend was killed. “ Since then, an observational study conducted in 2003 found; at Melbourne intersections: * 315 drivers (2% of the drivers observed) were driving whilst using handheld mobile phones. * The rate of mobile phone use while driving was highest in the CBD and the rates were highest among those aged 30 years and under. * A more recent survey (2007) conducted in Victoria asked drivers to self report their use of mobile phones while driving. o Of the 500 drivers surveyed, around a third admitted to using a handheld mobile phone while driving in the last month. o Among 18 to 25-year-olds, usage was the highest, with 55% of people admitting to using a handheld mobile phone while driving. o More metro drivers had used a handheld mobile phone and more males than females. Despite the high level of usage, the majority of drivers in all age groups rated the activity as dangerous. But even since 2003, mobile technology and indeed in vehicle distractions have multiplied. Car makers strive to shut out the outside ambience, whilst filling the inside with GPS, DVD, Bluetooth, MP3 and Internet gadgetry. Whilst the comfort level of new cars rises, are we in danger of, despite additional air-bags, Electronic Stability Control and ABS brakes, causing more carnage on the roads? To check if the ‘distracted driver’ message was sinking in, I conducted my own observational survey. |
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