Chicago DUI lawyer comments on memory, driving, and talking

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here, and here on distracted driving. Now comes news that memories decrease if you talk on your phone while driving.

January 22, Champaign, Il

It is well known that having a conversation (for example on a cell phone) impairs one’s driving. A new study indicates the reverse is also true: Driving reduces one’s ability to comprehend and use language.

The findings, from researchers at the University of Illinois, appear in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.

This is the first study to find that driving impairs language skills, said Gary Dell, a psycholinguist in the department of psychology at Illinois and corresponding author on the study. Two previous studies had reported that driving did not impair the accuracy and comprehension of speech.

“The previous findings made no sense to those of us who have studied language,” Dell said. “You might think that talking is an easy thing to do and that comprehending language is easy.

But it’s not. Speech production and speech comprehension are attention-demanding activities, and so they ought to compete with other tasks that require your attention – like driving.”

Well, looks like we are already moving in the direction of not talking and driving. Even Oprah has gotten on the bandwagon.

From Oprah.com:

I pledge to make my car a No Phone Zone. Beginning right now, I will do my part to help put an end to distracted driving by not texting or using my phone while I am driving. I will ask other drivers I know to do the same. I pledge to make a difference.

Hat tip to Shelley Blair.