Research

The San Diego-based SmartDrive Systems has released the results of a study that looked at the prevalence of distraction among the drivers of commercial vehicles.  The results are somewhat disheartening, as they show that distraction is fairly common even among the drivers of vehicles whose large size makes them particularly dangerous if an errant maneuver… read more

It’s hard to believe that it’s been six months since Hurricane Sandy swept across the East Coast.  The National Research Center of Consumer Reports has conducted an 8,400-person survey to understand the damage that’s been wrought and get a sense of how persons affected by Sandy responded to the disaster. A whopping 75% of people who… read more

Yet another study highlights the risks posed when one submits to various distractions at the wheel.  What’s interesting about this particular research is that it downplays the threat posed by simply talking on a cellphone while driving, something that other studies have come to very different conclusions about. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute carried out… read more

A new article in the Los Angeles Times provides some additional perspective on the recently released study which claimed that manual texting and voice-activated texting at the wheel tend to have the same negative impact on driving ability.  The author compares the results of that study with a AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study which… read more

A new study seems to back up the idea that drivers ought to refrain from using even voice-activated texting technology.  The news comes as California lawmakers get ready to debate a ban on such communications among all drivers. The Texas Transportation Institute conducted the study, which tracked the abilities of 43 drivers going 30 miles… read more

The newest iteration of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report details the ever-increasing risks faced by pedestrians as they age.  Hopefully, government officials can begin to understand these trends and install the types of safety mechanisms that can go a long way toward protecting persons on foot. The research… read more

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a report detailing the work being done by the agency’s Office of Minority Health.  The report comes as part of Minority Health Month, which will find the organization releasing similar informational materials up until the end of April. The OMH came about in 2010 thanks to the Affordable Care… read more

It seems like every week there’s a new study that relates both the dangers of and the prevalence of distracted driving.  Until drivers get the message, though, it’s up to authorities and safety advocates to keep pressing the point.  Kicking this habit to the curb may take a lot of work, but it’s certainly worth… read more

State Farm and the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital recently partnered for a study that sought to determine patterns of teen driving behavior.  There’s good news and there’s bad news.  On the plus side, 54% of the teens queried by the survey in 2011 explained that they wear seatbelts whenever they’re a passenger in a vehicle.  And… read more

Recently, researchers and medical professionals with NYU Langone Medical Center attempted to get a better grasp of what types of circumstances typically lead cyclists and pedestrians to be involved in a collision with a motor vehicle.  The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery features the eye-opening results, the understanding of which could improve safety… read more

A study carried out by an organization called the Erie Insurance Group claims that most distractions actually stem not from cellphones and the like, but from the motor vehicle operator simply being lost in their own thoughts while on the road.  By analyzing traffic fatalities reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2010… read more

Despite the widespread belief that texting and driving can be detrimental to one’s ability to safely navigate the roads, the phenomenon is still new enough that the effect texting bans actually have on traffic safety has not been fully studied.  It could take years to fully determine how beneficial texting bans can be, but one… read more