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Pets Prove Dangerous Distraction for Elderly Drivers Autos Articles | May 4 nike air max plus tn ultra scontate , 2013
According to a new study conducted by the University of Alabama-Birmingham, pets have proven themselves to be a significant distraction amongst older drivers.?


According to a new study conducted by the University of Alabama-Birmingham, pets have proven themselves to be a significant distraction amongst older drivers. The study questioned 2,000 drivers ages 70 and over not living in assisted living or retirement homes, including 691 who with pets nike air vapormax 95 scontate , asking them to describe their daily driving habits, and the kinds of behaviors they considered unsafe. ?This is the first study to evaluate the presence of pets in a vehicle as a potential internal distraction for elderly drivers,? says Gerald McGwin, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at UAB and co-author of the study.


Results showed that, for elderly drivers who frequently drove with their pets in the car nike air max plus scontate , accident rates were twice as high as those who did not bring their pets with them. Those who drove with their pets on rare occasion had a crash rate consistent with those who did not drive with their pets at all. This poses a serious safety threat for older drivers, as more than half of pet owners questioned brought their four legged friends with them as they drove. Interestingly, 83% of participants agreed that traveling with an unrestrained pet in the car was dangerous, but just 16% used a safety restraint intended specifically for their pets. Of those who travel with pets, most allowed them to sit in the front passenger seat or back seat without restraint.


Though rarely mentioned alongside distractions like cell phone and entertainment center usage nike air max 270 uomo scontate , dealing with an unwieldy pet has the potential to pull a driver?s focus, particularly an older driver, away from the road. ?Adding another distracting element, especially an active, potentially moving animal nike air max 270 scontate , provides more opportunity for an older driver to respond to a driving situation in a less than satisfactory way,? says McGwin. ?The increased crash rate for elderly drivers who always drive with bets is important in the context of increasing driver awareness about potentially dangerous driving habits.?


The danger, says the study?s conclusion, lies with the added cognitive stress introduced by pets, which can overwhelm older drivers. Pets themselves to not inter