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Knight Watch: Is There A Driving Force For Safety?
By Knight Pierce Hirst
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver distraction is involved in 80% of crashes and cell phones are the most common cause of distraction. Brain scans have shown the brain struggles when it has to simultaneously pay attention to sounds and sights. Although switching brain modes from auditory to visual takes only ¼ second, that's 20 feet of highway driving before braking – ¼ second isn't enough time for a second chance. California and New York are among several states that have outlawed cell phone use while driving, but using hands-free devices may not be the solution. According to NHTSA, 7% of crashes and near crashes in 2006 were caused by cell phone use. Aegis Mobility, however, may have a solution. Using a phone's GPS chip and the cell-tower signal, a Canadian Company has developed software that can detect when a cell phone is moving at car speeds. When that happens, "Drive Assist T" tells the cellular network to hold calls and text messages until the car is stopped. Although callers can have an emergency voice mail delivered immediately, the immediate goal of Drive Assist T is to prevent drivers from becoming human crash dummies. Another way to prevent car crashes is to avoid driving on Election Day. According to an analysis of presidential Election Day traffic deaths dating back to 1976, 24 more people died in car crashes during voting hours than on any other Tuesday in October or November. That's an 18% increase in the death rate. The researchers attributed the increase to people rushing to get to the polls, driving unfamiliar routes and being distracted by thinking about the candidates. To lower this risk the researchers suggested more careful driving, better traffic enforcement and more polls within walking distance. The right to vote shouldn't be a dead right. In China the right to drive has been adversely affected by air pollution. Beijing is implementing a 6-month traffic program in which 1/3 of government cars will be mothballed, 1/5 of official and private cars will be barred from driving on weekdays and citizens will be required to use public transportation at least one day a week. Municipal authorities will also phase out hundreds of thousands of vehicles that exceed emission standards one year ahead of schedule. This program will take 800,000 cars off the roads daily. Cars that aren't being driven are a driving force for safety.
This intel first appeared on: http://knightwatch.typepad.com
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PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
Knight Watch
KNIGHT WATCH IS A HUMOROUS 400 WORDS
knightwatch.typepad.com
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