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I love it when my anecdotal observations get a dose of validation. In April of 2006 I blogged about how cell-phone-driving-safety studies dealt only with the distraction they cause drivers, and not the effects of drivers slowing down the whole flow of traffic while on the phone.

A University of Utah study released this week confirms just that:

"At the end of the day, the average person's commute is longer because of that person who is on the cell phone right in front of them," says University of Utah psychology Professor Dave Strayer, leader of the research team. "That SOB on the cell phone is slowing you down and making you late."

As a bonus, my observation that every cable in my house ultimately gets tangled beyond recognition with every other cable has been validated by researchers at the University of California at San Diego who have proposed a simplified model for knot formation. I don't think I could tangle my cables so badly if I deliberately tried to; fortunately I don't have to.