Driving while talking worse than driving while drunk?

I really hate it when people talk on their cellphones while driving, and while I wish I could say I’ve never done it, this study might convince me to never do it again. A study, published in the June 29 issue of Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, concludes that the level of impairment for using cell phones while driving and driving while intoxicated is actually pretty close. In fact, cell phone impairment may even be worse than drunk driving:

Researchers found that the drivers on cell phones drove more slowly, braked more slowly and were more likely to crash. In fact, the three participants who collided into the pace car were chatting away. None of the drunken drivers crashed.

Cell phone impairment seems like common sense, but it’s good to see studies that support it. Perhaps this will lead to more people putting down their phone and driving. What a novel concept.

Unfortunately, the study did not test my personal least favorite accident-prone condition: Driving While Stupid.