distracted driver distractions now join alcohol and speeding as leading factors in fatal and serious...

Distracted DriverDistractions now join

alcohol and speeding as

leading factors in fatal and serious injury

crashes

Statistics

• According to the National Safety Council so far this year there have been an estimated 61,698 crashes caused by driver’s using cell phones and texting

• More than 1.6 million crashes are caused by cell phone use and texting each year

Myth or Fact?

• Do you believe that multitasking is a myth?

Multitasking

•Multitasking for the brain is a myth

• Human brains do not perform two tasks at same time. Brain handles tasks sequentially. Brain switches between one task and another

Multitasking

• Just listening to sentences on cell phones decreased activity by 37% in the brain’s parietal lobe which perceives movement, integrates sensory information and also has importance for language processing

Driving Simulator

• http://www.psych.utah.edu/lab/appliedcognition/

Multitasking

•How much of the road do you see when driving using a cell phone?– Is your vision of the road the same or different?

Inattention Blindness

Driver’s not using handheld device

Driver’s using handheld device

How Cell Phones Distract

• Visual• Mechanical • Cognitive: Mind focuses on

conversation, not on driving– Ie. “Looking” but not “seeing”

DO NOW

• Write down examples of Visual, Mechanical, and Cognitive Distractions

• List ways you can prevent these distractions.

•Cell phone users 4x as likely to crash

Help us save lives. Tell everyone you know.

On the Road, Off the Phone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DebhWD6ljZs&feature=player_embedded

Activity

Students will create a Public Service Announcement (PSA) poster that helps to detail one of the dangers of distracted driving. Students will present their signs in class.

http://www.distraction.gov