The summer is almost over and I’m back in the classroom after a hectic few months.  I didn’t post as many blogs over the summer as I’d hoped, but you can check out what I’ve been doing if you read this NY Times article.

I’m interested in how technology influences how we think.  I’ve written many articles about cell phones and driver distraction (see www.psych.utah.edu/lab/appliedcognition).  I’ve also been very interested in what happens when we “unplug” from technology.  For the last five years, I’ve taught a course at the University of Utah entitled “Cognition in the Wild” that, among other things, examines how being in nature can have restorative effects on attention.

The idea is that in our daily routine we are confronted with many things that compete for attention (cell phones ringing, incoming e-mail, cars honking, sirens blaring, etc. etc.) and that these interruptions tend to deplete executive attention (Stephen Kaplan and Marc Berman have written an excellent article on this idea Perspectives on Psychological Science-2010-Kaplan-43-57).   Interacting in nature is thought to have restorative properties that produce important benefits to attention.

One of the things that we are really interested in is what is being restored in the brain as we interact in nature.  To pursue these issues in greater detail, I invited five leading cognitive neuroscientists and talented landscape artist Richard Boyer to join me on a 5-day wilderness experience rafting and canoeing down the remote sections of the San Juan river in southern Utah.  If you read the NY Times article by Matt Richtel, you can find out a bit more about the trip and our discussions.

If you watch the multimedia videos on the NY Times web site you may wonder if we ever got my canoe off the rocks.  We didn’t, but when the water level dropped a few rafters were able to extract it (although it was no longer seaworthy).

Below are some graphic images of a tragic motor vehicle crash where the driver was talking on her cell phone. The accident occurred when the driver of a red Volkswagen pulled out from a side street into the path of a motorcycle. The driver of the VW apparently failed to see the motorcycle. The motorcyclist, the driver of the VW, and her passenger were killed in the accident.

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A disturbing trend is emerging with regard to texting while driving.

Common knowledge is that teens are often guilty of texting while driving, with 34% of 16 and 17 year-olds indicating that they had sent text messages while driving.

But, according to a recent poll from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 47% of adults admit that they sent texts while driving! So texting isn’t just something that young drivers do.

This is alarming, because the crash risk associated with texting while driving is much higher than driving while drunk. For example, in our study, the odds of getting into a crash when the driver was texting was eight times higher than when they were driving without distraction. By contrast, driving when intoxicated at a .08 blood alcohol level (the legal limit) is associated with a crash risk four timers higher than baseline.

So, if you see someone swerving down the road, they may be drunk, but it is becoming much more likely that they are “intoxicated” from their cell phone while talking or texting.

Some other statistics from the Pew report:

75% of drivers who own a cell phone report using it while driving. This compares with a rate of 52% for teen drivers (ages 16-17).

Amazingly, over 40% of drivers report that they have been passengers in a vehicle where the driver’s use of a cell phone put them or others in danger.

And would you believe that 17% of adults who own a cell phone have bumped into a person or object because they were distracted.

Makes you wonder what people are thinking…

As bad a problem as driver distraction is right now, it is poised to become much worse.  Watch this video to see what Ford has in mind for your vehicle.  Every conceivable form of consumer electronics is set to be in your vehicle.




If this doesn’t give you cause for concern, then I suspect that nothing will.

As one of the commentators in the video says, it is like having an open bar in the vehicle and then telling the driver not to drink.

FYI:  Check with the National Safety Council for a white paper on cognitive distractions.

It is not enough to have your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road, you need to keep your mind on the drive.

Soon you will be able to update your facebook page while you commute to and fro…

Here is some great footage of traffic on the streets of San Francisco circa 1905.

Good thing they weren’t moving very fast!

Imagine if a jet airplane full of passengers crashed today. And a week later, another airplane full of passengers crashed. Suppose this went on for a month or two. There would be media frenzy, the public would be outraged, and hearings in both the US House and Senate would be in the offing. Almost certainly, the Secretary of Transportation would announce some new safety measures.

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Tom and Ray sat down to ask Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood several questions about driver distraction.

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