Motorists On Cell Phones Are More Distracted

By RICH SHOPES

Published: May 7, 2007

Not even a chatty passenger is more distracting than a cell phone.

A University of Utah study due out this month debunks the idea that drivers are no more distracted by a cell phone than a talkative passenger or the radio.

Psychology professors David L. Strayer and Frank A. Drews examined eye movements and gave memory tests to almost 200 subjects who took turns in a simulator.

The drivers on cell phones spent less time checking their mirrors and were more apt not to notice landmarks and other cars.

Subjects with passengers but not on the phone were better able to remember what they saw, demonstrating more focused driving. In some cases passengers helped, pointing out traffic obstacles and approaching exits.

Cell phones cause drivers "to disengage from their surroundings" in a way not experienced by drivers with passengers, Strayer said.

"When you're talking on the phone, the person on the other end has no idea what you are doing," he said. "To some extent, the driver gets sucked into that cell phone conversation."

Gate Crashers

The Lee Roy Selmon Expressway will get another big sign.

This one is meant to stop drivers from crashing into the gates at 34th Street. Two overhead signs warn motorists when the entrance to the reversible lanes is closed, but some drivers aren't paying attention.

A vehicle last week crashed into a gate at 34th, backed up and drove off. A handful of other cars have done the same.

"One time, someone hit the second gate and missed the first. That means they drove around the first one," said Martin Stone, planning director for the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority.

The gates keep drivers from entering the reversible lanes when drivers are coming from the other direction. No other entrance has this problem, which Stone attributes to a slope in the road. To curb the crashes, the authority will install a 5-foot-wide electronic sign about a half-mile from the 34th Street entrance. It should be working in about two months.

Nebraska Gets Facelift

Nebraska Avenue's resurfacing starts next month.

The three-mile, $11 million project is supposed to take two years. When finished, most of the road will be narrowed from four lanes to three, with center-turning lane and bike lanes.

One Road, Two Names

Reader Jeff Oswald of Tampa recently asked whether it makes sense to combine the Veterans Expressway and Suncoast Parkway under one name, "The Veterans Suncoast Expressway."

The Veterans and Suncoast are, after all, one road stretching from Hillsborough Avenue north into Hernando County.

That certainly would make life easier for visitors, says a spokeswoman for Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, which operates the roads. But changing the name is not so simple. It requires state legislation. In addition, the road splits at Van Dyke Road, where it becomes the Suncoast running north while the Veterans keeps that name as it continues east to North Dale Mabry Highway.

Got a gripe about your commute? Contact reporter Rich Shopes at rshopes@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7633. Look for more commuter news on TBO.com, Keyword: Shopes.