Upwardly Mobile

As readers of Why We Make Mistakes know, multi-tasking is usually a bad idea. It's an especially bad idea when you are behind the wheel of a car. Talking on a cell phone or texting while you are driving dramatically increases your chances of an accident. But we do it anyway because, among other reasons, we are overconfident about our abilities to multi-task.

For some interesting history about how we got to this point, see the page-one story by Matt Richtel in today's New York Times. As the article notes:

"Long before cellphones became common, industry pioneers were aware of the risks of multitasking behind the wheel. Their hunches have been validated by many scientific studies showing the dangers of talking while driving and, more recently, of texting.

"Despite the mounting evidence, the industry built itself into a $150 billion business in the United States largely by winning over a crucial customer: the driver."

D.W.T.

One of the most common sources of human error is multi-tasking, especially when performed behind the wheel of a car.

D.W.T. or Driving While Texting, is a supremely bad idea; it's been implicated in the crash of a train in Los Angeles and a trolley in Boston.

It is also becoming illegal. In Utah, for instance, texting and emailing while driving are now punishable by a $750 fine and 90 days in jail.

The state has put out a video, which you can see here. There's also a similar, though very graphic, video appearing now in the U.K.

As the Wall Street Journal points out, companies are scrambling to come up with new texting-safety apps that block texts or minimize the distraction they cause.

But you don't need any of these; you could just hang up the phone and drive.

For The Non-Believers Among Us

Readers of this blog know that we've been harping for some time on the perils of multi-tasking, especially multi-tasking behind the wheel. If you still think you can text and drive at the same time, maybe this piece in the New York Times will make you think otherwise. There's also an interesting follow-up, which you can find here.