Sports Radio Commentary Can Increase Your Risk of an Accident Godosky & Gentile Attorneys New York New York

Sports Radio Commentary Can Increase Your Risk of an Accident

Posted by: William Gentile
August 09, 2010
Topic: Automobile Accidents

Cheering for the Yankees or the Mets while listening to a ball-by-ball commentary on the radio can be more dangerous for you than you think. A new study just out of Britain indicates that listening to sports commentary on the radio, increases your accident risk significantly.

Researchers monitored a group of persons who had to listen to a horserace commentary while being put through a simulated driving program. Researchers found that the subjects showed a 20% drop in reaction times while driving, which is equal to the drop experienced by an intoxicated driver. New York car accident lawyerscan take this to mean that the accident risks from being engrossed in a sports game on the radio, are equal to those from drunk driving.

Not all games have the same risk, however. The subjects in this study were also told that they would win a certain amount of money for every horse that made it to the top five. The persons therefore, had an emotional interest in the game, and were much more likely to concentrate on it. It's this emotional connection that seems to distract drivers the most. Persons rooting for their favorite team while listening to a game on the radio, are definitely emotionally involved in the game. A fan listening to a sports broadcast is not merely a motorist listening to the game on the radio, but is actually an active spectator at the event, watching the game. This creates a dangerous shift in attention away from the road.

This kind of shift is considered essential by radio sports broadcasters, whose livelihood depends on being able to distract you away from whatever you're doing and focus on the game. However, any kind of distraction that takes your attention away from the road, increases your risk of an accident, and must be avoided.