Healthcare

Dakota Midday: USD Texting and Driving Study

SDPB Radio | By Karl Gehrke

Published March 25, 2015 at 2:32 PM CDT

A new study by researchers at the University of South Dakota finds both men and women admit to texting while driving, but it’s harder to convince men that the practice is unsafe. The study “Gender differences in psychosocial predictors of texting while driving” was published in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention.

The lead researcher is Cindy Struckman-Johnson, professor of psychology. She says a majority of both men and women reported sending one to five texts per day while driving, but women said their texts were less than a sentence while men reported sending longer texts. The study also revealed that men believed they were somewhat distracted, but they did not expect the distraction to lead to an accident. Women were more likely to associate texting with a possible driving mishap. The research was conducted through online surveys in which college-age students self-reported their texting behavior.

Cindy Struckman-Johnson joined Dakota Midday and discussed the study and recommendations.

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Karl Gehrke

Karl was born to northeastern South Dakota crouton farmers, but was orphaned as a toddler during the Great Salad War (1966-67). Rescued by a flock of chickadees, he grew up in the woodlands of Sica Hollow. Legends of a bird boy living in the trees attracted the interest of renowned ornithologist and amateur bandoneon repairman Dr. Vogel Gehrke. With a handful of suet, Dr. Gehrke coaxed the timid boy down from the trees. He adopted him, named him Karl and taught him not to molt on the carpet. Dr. Gehrke’s book, The Bird Boy of Sica Hollow, was a best seller and Karl became a minor celebrity and teen idol. He appeared as a guest star on numerous television programs, most notably an awkward role on The Love Boat as the boyfriend of Captain Stubing’s daughter, Vicki. After critics panned his 1980 album, Bird Boy Does Disco, Karl retreated from public life and returned to Sica Hollow. Living in an isolated tree house, Karl achieved a reputation as a mystic. Pilgrims and seekers from around the world came to ask him about the meaning of life and for vinaigrette recipes. Growing tired of answering questions, he climbed down from his tree, shaved his massive white beard and took a job as the host of SDPB Radio’s Dakota Midday where he could ask the questions instead. After three years in that position, he ran out of questions and became host of Jazz Nightly instead. Karl makes his home in Vermillion with his charming wife Kari and three delightful children, Kodey, Kasey and Spatula. His hobbies include reciting the alphabet, combing his hair and doing volunteer work with delinquent songbirds.

See stories by Karl Gehrke