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Simon Phipps's personal commentary

A ban on passengers? [SocioPolitico]

The vultures are circling here in the UK over use of mobile phones while driving, and the timely appearance of a Swedish study seems to lend weight to the argument. This time round it's a little better than the Tories Yuppy Tax (a previous Conservative government made provision of a cell phone to an employee a specially taxable benefit) and there's no doubt that most people want to see a ban on one-handed drivers, head cocked, lost in a world of conversation.

But the ROSPA research used in the UK concerns me. A quick skim through the report suggests something of a rush to judgement, selecting the evidence to support the desired advice. To be specific, where are all the control experiments with a passenger in the car holding a conversation with the driver, which is surely the equivalent of a proper hands-free facility? Some of the US research on fatal accidents for example suggests that talking to passengers is the number three reason for distraction-caused accidents (8% of all accidents, ROSPA p.8). Once we get beyond the obvious idiocy, we're getting into dangerous territory - after all, one will save more lives banning passengers or music in vehicles.

posted at 1:18 PM (UK) | |