-
Drinking Socially Makes it Harder to Tell When You’re Too Drunk to Drive
This New Year’s Eve many partygoers will be ringing in the New Year with a little more to drink than the traditional Champagne toast at midnight, making the holiday one of the deadliest times of the year to be on the road. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, New Year’s Day is the worst day of the year for fatal crashes involving impaired drivers, with data from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration showing that around 40% of the fatalities over the New Year’s holiday involve a drunk driver.
-
Movies May Rev Up Teens’ Reckless Behavior Behind the Wheel
Research has long shown that children’s behavior can be influenced by what they see in movies, TV, and video games. In light of this, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) considers factors such as violence, sex, foul language, smoking, and drug use when assigning ratings for movies so that parents can make informed decisions about what their children watch. A newly published study provides evidence indicating another on-screen behavior that could be added to this list: reckless driving. The study shows that children exposed to reckless driving in movies may end up emulating that behavior once they’re old enough to borrow the keys.
-
Bad Drivers? No, Just Bad Stereotypes
Ugly stereotypes about “bad drivers” creep into pop culture, jokes, and slurs on a regular basis. The pernicious stereotype of “bad Asian drivers” has made its way into popular TV shows like Family Guy and websites like Urban Dictionary. In August of 2014, an Australian politician publicly apologized for stating that Asian drivers had “no comprehension” of the road rules, according to The Guardian. However, research on traffic accidents actually shows that many of the groups who are often stereotyped as “bad drivers” -- women, Asians, and the elderly -- are actually less likely to get into accidents or break traffic laws than are people from other demographic groups.
-
Distracted Driving May Become More Dangerous as We Age
Older drivers have actually been found to be safer drivers in many respects when compared to younger people. They’re more likely to wear seatbelts and less likely to engage in risky behavior, like speeding and driving under the influence, according to the CDC. However, a study published in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention finds that older drivers should be especially cautious about multitasking behind the wheel. The research team, led by psychological scientist Kelsey R. Thompson of Northwestern University, found that distracting tasks – like talking on a cell phone or fiddling with the radio – may be particularly dangerous for older drivers.
-
Tough Thanksgiving Traffic May Turn Some Drivers into Turkeys
Stressful holiday road conditions can lead to dangerous behavior behind the wheel, especially for drivers in a hurry.
-
Making Self-Driving Cars More Human May Gain Drivers’ Trust
The most recent iteration of Google’s self-driving car has no gas pedal, brake, or even a steering wheel. All that’s left for the so-called driver to control are two buttons: one to start the car and one for emergency stops. Autonomous vehicles – cars that can control their own steering and speed — are expected by some engineering groups to account for up to 75% of vehicles on the road by 2040. But do people trust robot cars enough to let them take over at the wheel?
