Affects on response times when driving

[LHutton]

Makes you wonder about the UK policy of 3 points for using a mobile vs a 12 month ban for drink driving.

[Yw-slayer]

It's not just response time. Alcohol gives you dutch courage and makes you take risks that you otherwise wouldn't. How else would ugly people manage to have sex?

[Kchrpm]

And getting drunk, and then getting sober, is a much longer process. You can't just raise and lower your drunkenness at will.

[Yw-slayer]

I should add that apart from your judgment and risk evaluation abilities, drinking also affects you sense of balance and spatial awareness. All of these are issues if you are operating a 2-3 ton metal vehicle travelling at speed. In any event, surely the more over the legal limit you are, the more your reaction time will suffer.

[Crazed_Insanity]

What? Hands-free mobile talk can cause such delays as well? So it's probably a bad idea for F-1 drivers talking with the pit crew? Comparatively, if you have a drink before the race, you'd probably improve your lap time! Faster reaction time than talking on the radio and it will for sure make you braver too!

[George]

Effects is the word you were looking for.

[Yw-slayer]

Of course, but I didn't think that even needed pointing out.

[21Kid]

I don't see how holding the phone causes that much of a delay... If I were to ever do it. I would try to be more conscious of things going on, knowing that I'm doing something that can be dangerous. I wouldn't think I'd be that much more distracted than I would be using a hands-free device.

I suppose 1sec x 40% is just 1.4 sec.

I think what this really shows is that we need to raise the blood alcohol limit.

[thesameguy]

What? Hands-free mobile talk can cause such delays as well? So it's probably a bad idea for F-1 drivers talking with the pit crew? Comparatively, if you have a drink before the race, you'd probably improve your lap time! Faster reaction time than talking on the radio and it will for sure make you braver too!

I don't see how holding the phone causes that much of a delay...

in this case, the studies don't agree with the statistics. The studies have all shown it's the act of talking on the phone that causes the issue, whether it's hands-free or hand-held. People literally space out regardless of where the phone is. I gotta believe the statistics shown don't have enough resolution - eg they don't account for driver behavior. Maybe people who statistically use hands free devices are also statistically better drivers - that would certainly make sense to me. The article is clearly more focused on nutshell truths than the whole picture. Whatevs. Don't drive whilst fucking about, we all know that.

[21Kid]

I've also read that talking to people in the same car as you is just as distracting as hands-free. They should have that on the list.

The delay for texting should be much higher too, IMO. You have to look at a screen and try and type. Most of the time the people aren't even looking at the road. Unless it's type to talk, then it should have a different category.