Listening to Soccer Games While Driving Deemed Major Safety Risk
May 30, 1999
While we’re all aware of the rule “don’t text and drive” or any other similar road safety risks involved in driving while using a mobile phone, scientists have found that listening to commentary on football (what Yanks call “soccer”) games while on the wheel is just as distracting and dangerous.
The report, titled “Football Focus”, was made at the University of Leicester, a research-led university in Leicester, England. The report states that some 2 million drivers have already had a brush with accidents while listening to commentary of football games and other sports. The commentary apparently leads to erratic behavior on the part of the driver. The report was made for esure insurance.
Michael Pont, a professor at the University of Leicester, spoke about the risk. “It is widely accepted that the distraction of talking on a hand-held mobile phone may lead to accidents, but other activities may have a similar impact – such as listening to sport on the radio,” said Pont.
Incidentally, the study tested both football fans and non-football fans. Non-football fans behaved more consistently compared to football fans when listening to games, especially at climactic moments.
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