The Dangers of Voice Controls




Brace Yourself: Teen Driving Habits Get Worse over Time




Driver Distraction - on a Larger and Sadder Scale


Distracted driving is even more dangerous when mass transit is involved.


A Letter From My Student


Professor Paul Atchley's visit to the Distracted Driving Summit inspired a passionate call in his classroom to end this dangerous behavior.


It's Not Just Your Car, It's Your Freedom




Driving and Facebooking


Facebook posts from behind the wheel of this teenager's moving vehicle make for tragic consequences.


Calling in Cars: What Are the Benefits?


New laws and regulations often result in any number of unintended consequences. If bans on cell phone use while driving were to be instituted, are there any real "benefits" that we stand to lose?


How Do You Cross the Street in Vietnam?


How Do You Cross the Street in Vietnam? The quick answer is “Slowly and predictably.” As a researcher on traffic-related issues, my trip to Vietnam, where traffic obeys loose "guidelines" rather than rules, was a lesson in predictable chaos.


What is the Cost?


I recently had to write a “benefits” section for a proposal to develop public safety campaigns to limit texting and driving. We all know that crashes are bad, but how bad are they?  If we ignore the immense toll of pain and suffering, and we just try to put accidents caused by texting into a "cost analysis", what would that look like?


One Simple Change


Two events happened over the last couple of weeks that prompt me to ask whether we would be willing to make one simple change that could dramatically improve our ability to understand distracted driving.


Why We Are Stuck in the '70s and Why That Isn't So Bad


Ask a younger driver which is worse:  A crash from someone texting, or a crash from someone drinking? Which one do you think they would pick? It turns out the answer is a bit complicated...


Vehicle distraction systems: The 21st century cup holder




We could end the problem right now but...


What if I told you that we could end the problem of drivers using cellular phones to talk, text, surf or whatever-is-coming-next RIGHT NOW?  Okay, let me rephrase that.  I am telling you we could end the problem right now, or at least start on a path toward that end... but the solution is being he...


The Coming Epidemic: Part 2, What Are They Thinking?!


When I see a driver texting, I am baffled at how someone can justify being so clearly irresponsible.  If it were a hardcore few,  like the Facebook user that formed the “I am a pro at texting and driving” group, I could just explain it away as being part of the underlying stupidity coefficient...


Wait, Wait... Don't Deceive Me


A week or so ago, the popular NPR news quiz show "Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me" asked guests to fill in the blank on the following statement: Contrary to popular belief, new research suggests (BLANKING) can actually improve driver safety. Answer: TALKING ON THE PHONE. What!? How could this be?...