Portland Personal Injury Law Blog

There are plenty of ways people can become a danger behind the wheel. One of the least talked about possible dangers is driving while sick… until now.

A new study out of the UK shows that driving with a cold can be just as bad as driving while under the influence of alcohol. More specifically, the research team found that having a cold may be equivalent to drinking over four double shots of whiskey.

The researchers gave drivers who were experiencing cold symptoms computerized tests. What they found was that suffering from a cold resulted in diminished reaction times and trouble properly navigating curves and braking in a timely manner. Overall, the researchers estimate about a 50 percent drop in driving ability.

There are physical impairments. This would include sneezing, coughing and watery eyes that could make drivers veer or otherwise navigate the roads improperly. Then there are mental impairments. A person’s mood can affect their driving along with being tired or on cold medicine.

“Commencing a journey in such a state would certainly be irresponsible and could be held as an aggravating factor in any accident that lead to a death or serious injury, turning a careless act into a dangerous one,” wrote Steve Rounds of the Central Motorway Police Group in England.

Washington State Trooper Keith Leary thinks the study should be a wake-up call to those who are sick and don’t have to be behind the wheel.

“You should be evaluating yourself,” he said. “Can I drive safely while I’m feeling as ill as I am?”

The holidays are officially here. For most of us that means good times spent with family and friends. Unfortunately it also means more dangerous roads. This season the Northwest has already gotten a head start on snow and wet roads. Combine that with holiday festivities and you have the potential of drunk driving accidents.

There has been good news in recent years for Oregonians. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, since 2006 drunk driving fatalities have either held at 148 each year or gone down (there were 115 fatalities in 2009).

However, one drunk driving fatality is too many. You don’t have to be drunk either to be in danger during nasty weather. Central Oregon was hit with some snow last week and it contributed to a slew of accidents, as 911 reportedly responded to dozens of calls.

“Unfortunately, every time we get a snow, this happens,” said Deschutes County Sheriff’s Sgt. Vance Lawrence. “People that live here shouldn’t be surprised. It’s winter here, and it gets snowy and icy.”

“We ask, with heartfelt request, that people just don’t be in a hurry,” Lawrence said. “Just slow down a little bit. Your following distances should be more than twice what they normally are.”

So what do you do to increase your chance for staying safe and sound this holiday season? Try to minimize the time you spend on the roads, particularly on days like Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. And if you do go out on the roads, be vigilant about safe driving practices and avoid using your cell phone while behind the wheel.

Human beings do things we shouldn’t all the time. It’s an unsolved mystery as to why we risk our health and even the lives of others for some form of self-gratification. Whether it’s smoking cigarettes or getting a tan, cancer risks and common sense take a back seat to a nicotine craving and vanity.

The same unnecessary risks come into play with cell phone use while driving. It would be one thing if people were unaware of the risks, but new research reveals that most people knowingly risk endangering themselves and others and use cell phones while driving.

According to Harris Interactive, a market research company, 91 percent of all motorists know about the dangers of using handheld cellphone while driving, but almost 60 percent of those drivers do it anyway. What’s worse, 27 percent of drivers say they text while driving. While that number is less than using handheld cellphones, statistics show that texting while driving is much more dangerous.

Even though most legislation only restricts texting and handheld cell phone use while driving, studies also show that using hands-free technology like a Bluetooth can be just as dangerous. According to the nonprofit Governors Highway Safety Association, there is no conclusive evidence that shows talking on a hands-free device is any safer or less distracting than talking with a phone in your hand.

Unfortunately, they have also come to the conclusion that these anti-cell phone laws are difficult to enforce. That means our best chance for real change is a cultural shift. While educating the public on the dangers of driving and cell phone use should continue, so far the majority of people are ignoring the facts.

With warm summer weather and no school you get bored teenagers filling the streets. A new study put together jointly by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) is enough to make parents and anyone sharing the roads with teenagers this summer a little bit nervous.

One of the more stunning revelations was that 68 percent of teen drivers admit to having a “near miss” car accident. More than half of them say that this has occurred more than once. When asked what they were doing at the time, the teens admitted to several distractive or bad behaviors:

• 30 percent say they were speeding

• 21 percent say they were texting

• 20 percent were talking to other people in the car

• 17 percent were changing music on their MP3 players

Part of being young is to be carefree and fearless. Unfortunately, that sometimes manifests itself in the inability to be aware of one's poor decision-making. For instance, 92 percent of the teens surveyed still believe that they were safe and cautious drivers, even after admitting to the poor decisions mentioned above.

Teens also often don't learn from their mistakes. While many say that they pay closer attention after a near miss accident, this behavior is only temporary. Only 13 percent of them said they reduced their speeding habits and only 26 percent said they texted less after a near miss accident.

Unfortunately it took being in an actual accident for a significant amount of teens to admit they changed their dangerous habits. Almost 70 percent of teens say they changed their driving habits after being in a car accident. Still, that number drops to 58 percent when asked if improvement would be “forever."

"The high prevalence of distracted and dangerous driving continues to be a concern, especially as we head into the summer months when the highest number of driving fatalities occurs," said SADD Chairman Stephen Wallace. "We know from past Liberty Mutual/SADD research that teens are behind the wheel 44 percent more hours each week in the summer (23.6 hours) than during the rest of the year (16.4 hours), adding some urgency for parents and teens to sit down and review their family rules of the road."

Adding fuel to the fire, summer months are when teens admit to more driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. With the Fourth of July just around the corner,  we all need to exercise more caution when on the roads.