OK, you've run at least 2 episodes on revisiting myths (kudos!), but the one *clearly* botched test was the "It is just as dangerous to talk on a cellphone as it is to drive drunk" myth. This myth is so easy to revisit & is actually relevant, so why haven't you retested it?!?

If I recall correctly, you ran a test run with no distractions, then ran one with mental tasks performed via a cell phone, then did the same while drunk. The results were obvious. But you showed the correlation between distraction & driving performance, *not* the effects of cell phone use. This was just sloppy, & so far below the high quality testing you normally perform.

Why didn't you run a baseline of mental tasks being asked by a passenger & comparing the results with the questions asked via a cell phone? Why didn't you run a test with a normal conversation via cell phone & compare it a conversation with a passenger? Why didn't you compare *normal* cell phone use to other common tasks like listening to the radio, singing to the radio, searching for stations or CD tracks, smoking, kids in the car, unruly kids in the car, using navigation systems, looking at maps or reading, putting on makeup, eating/drinking, etc. I guarantee some of these other tasks will prove far more dangerous than using a cell phone.

Regardless, I do not recall a methodology so poorly designed & flawed as this one that this myth must be revisited.

JM2C.

BTW, this is among the very best shows on TV, & I eagerly watch every single episode

I would have to say at some time though, individual mental capacity would have to come into play at some point.

You can argue that, sure there are some people that can (and I hold this very loosly) be pretty good at drunk driving. Though the majority are really bad lol. Now cell phone usage has got to fall into a totally different realm.Kinda like stock car driving. Not everyone could have that focus driving at 200 mph but as a whole...I bet alot of us could.Same with cell phones. If I had a nickle for everytime I saw someone text someone while doing three other things at the same time...I would be a rich guy lol. Talking and driving while sober could basicly be considered one more step in driving imo. Like appling pressure to the accelerator.

I agree with what you said though. But I think they are all visual distractions...kinda like how drinking impairs vision. Eyes are the key to good driving.

Is this really a myth? :P

Very detailed tests of the type suggested above have been performed by many teams of researchers independantly in many different countries.

The results are always the same: cell phones impair driving to the same degree that being legally intoxicated does. And listening to the radio, talking with other passengers or other distractions don't. Using hands-free phones doesn't change the results; they're just as bad as handheld units.

Many such results are within easy reach over the Internet; many, many more are available in peer-reviewed journals available at your friendly neighborhood library.

The Mythbuster's tests covered all the basics, and their conclusions are entirely valid. Take-away lesson: if you have to talk on the phone, pull over and park.

First, forget that this about cell phone use while driving (because a lot people have strong varying opinions about this topic, justified or not). Just focus on the methodology: It's incredibly flawed! And that's why the myth should be revisited.

Second, yes, there's a lot info about this topic on the 'Net, but this about Mythbusters, not the 'Net. Mythbusters commonly investigate topics already explored by others (take the "walking versus running in the rain" myth, for example).

Third, I'm skeptical of these studies for the simple reason that accidents have not increased with increase in cell phone use.

Table 1082. Motor Vehicle Accidents--Number and Deaths: 1980 to 2004
1980 - 17.9 M accidents
1985 - 19.3
1990 - 11.5
1995 - 10.7
1996 - 11.2
1997 - 13.8
1998 - 12.7
1999 - 11.4
2000 - 13.4

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/07s1082.xls

And in my home state of Missouri, MODOT stats show:

1999 93,280 accidents
2005 90,420
http://www.modot.org/safety/trafficaccidentstatistics.htm

Obviously cell phone use has grown tremendously over this period as has the number of vehicles, yet the number of accidents has remained fairly steady.

So, yes, cell phones are a distraction (obviously) but it is not (apparently) contributing to more accidents.

[quote]Second, yes, there's a lot info about this topic on the 'Net[/quote]

There's also a lot of information about this in peer-reviewed journals, ALL of which comes to the same conclusion they did on the show: using a cell phone while driving is the same as driving while drunk.

Deal with it.

OK, then it's a fact that driving while using your cell phone makes you as impaired as if you were drunk.

Then apparently drunk driving isn't as dangerous as once presumed, because crash data shows no increase in the number of crashes despite the rapid increase of cell phone use. With over 88 million US cell phone subscribers & some 40K new subscribers added each day, no significant increase in vehicle accidents has occurred, & in fact, there has been a negative trend for accidents in general.

Studies for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) do not even list communications devices as a significant risk factor for crashes, despite the fact that commercial fleets have used advanced communication technologies for decades.

DEAL WITH THAT.

All I have to go with on this are my own personal statistics.

While a passenger in a car, the driver received a call on his cell phone as he was approaching a turn. He answered the call and missed the turn almost crashing into the sidewalk.

While parked behind a parked vehicle at the post office, as I was going between our vehicles, the driver was backing up and not stopping until I banged on the trunk of his car... he was on the phone, oblivious to where he was going or what was behind him.

The reason people have accidents while driving and talking on cell phone is because they aren't paying attention to the road. I think they proved that with the driving while performing mental tasks. On a side note I pay less attention to the phone, usually giving one or two word responses, when I drive. That comes from going on too many convoys lol.

I agree with truthiness. but i think they also need to see if it is safer using a hands-free device for your cell phone and test which one is the best to have as well as doing such tasks as fiddling with the radio, eating, and other stuff that drivers do that they are not supposed to do.
I enjoy watching the show and am always looking for new episodes to watch and to see just how much distruction the mythbusters can make. It is not only entertaining but educational as well. My husband and I watch the show with our 5 year old son who knows exactly which cast member is who.

quote:

Originally posted by truthiness:
& some 40K new subscribers added each day

Are there any statistics on how many of those people are kids under the age of 18?

Milwaukee's Public Schools put a cell phone ban into effect because 1.) when fights started half the school was there to watch it in minutes, and 2.) they were disrupting in class.

Think about THAT when posting statistics about cell phones.

Since I could get an edit up to add to my previous post....

quote:

i think they also need to see if it is safer using a hands-free device for your cell phone

Why? You're still multi-tasking between driving and talking. The results would be the same as holding a phone and talking.

The results would not necessarily be the same because if you are holding the phone to your ear you are not using both of your hands to drive.

I would like to add that this show is about testing myths, not giving pc results and answers that back up popular or preferred opinions.

Whether you are talking on the cell phone or a passenger the fact is you are still being distracted by the conversation. Besides, the myth was only about the cell phone. Talking to someone else in the car is changing the conditions of the myth. Most cell phone users in this case are primarily solo drivers.

Truthiness, you car considering the wrong statistics. You are only looking at traffic fatalities. Car safety features has change ALOT in the last 27 years of your sample. Fatalities are only a rather minor part of all accidents. Rather, what you would want to look at are minor accidents. What is the trend of fender benders?

Ask your insurance company and also look at police reports of accidents involving Cell phones. Talking and driving is illegal in most places, but is almost never enforced. That does mean that the police can charge you with one more thing when you do get in a wreck.

You need to look at All accidents, not just fatalities.

Does the ice in my drink absorb the alcool in my drink. I have been a bartender and had SEVERAL people that belive this. Is it true?
Be safe
Julie

I agree with what others have said, this myth was not properly tested. They need to at least perform these tests:

- Talking on Bluetooth headset
- Having a regular conversation instead of mental puzzles
- Having a regular conversation with someone in the passenger or back seat
- Mental puzzles with someone sitting in the car

More needs to be done in terms of if the distraction was due to holding the phone to their ear, having to think about the puzzles they were given, or simply listening and talking while driving. My personal opinion is that with a headset, talking on the phone would be no different than talking to someone in the car.

I heard on the radio that talking to a passenger can also be a distrction, but not as much as talking on a cell phone. I would hazard a guess that the difference is: the passenger can also see the road conditions, while the person on the other end of the phone call can't.