Law Advice

Almost everyone does it.Listening to a ball-by-ball
commentary of the game on the radio while driving-we’ve all been
there.However, a new study
conducted by British researchers seems to suggest that listening to
sports commentary can be just as much of an accident risk as
drunk driving.

The British researchers looked at motorists driving just around the
World Cup and Wimbledon games.The found that when drivers
were listening to sports commentary, their reaction times declined
by as much as 20.To put that in perspective, 20 is the drop
in reaction time that’s typically seen in an intoxicated
driver.What that basically means is that your risk of being
involved in an accident when you’re engrossed in your sports
commentary is as high as if you were driving under the
influence.

Obviously, as a New
Jersey accident lawyer, I find that very
discomfiting.There’s no way to translate those results yet to
American motorists, but I’m willing to bet that you’d probably find
the same kind of results here too.Americans are the ultimate
sports lovers, and there is very little that delights us more than
multitasking, so listening to sports commentary while we are
driving, is something we don’t think twice about.

It’s important to remember that when you’re engrossed in radio
sports commentary, you’re much less likely to see other motorists,
pedestrians, and bicyclists around you.You’re less likely to
hear the horns of motorists around you.You’re less likely to
make emergency driving decisions in time, and your reaction times
are likely to get delayed.

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