Dialing & tuning cited as worst distractions

While everyone agrees that distracted driving is a hazard, the debate continues about which distractions are the most dangerous. J.D. Power and Associates' Internet poll of more than 12,000 drivers who bought vehicles, showed 64 percent said dialing a phone was distracting, while only 30 percent found talking on a cell phone a big distraction.

Although just nine percent said tuning a radio was distracting, another recent survey by the California Highway Patrol found radios atop the list of distractions leading to accidents. CHP looked at 14,000 accidents caused by driver inattention, with 344 listing a specific distraction. Of those, stereos figured in 109 accidents, edging out cell phones which played a part in 102.

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