Despina Stavrinos, Ph.D., is a distracted driving researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who is available to speak about Apple's announcement today of the new "Do Not Disturb While Driving" mode to be released in the upcoming iOS update.
UAB has the capability to accomodate live or taped interviews via Skype or our fully functioning news studio (see more details below). Broll from the Stavrinos driving simulator is also available.
Stavrinos, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology in the University of Alabama at Birmingham's College of Arts and Sciences and director of the UAB Translational Research for Injury Prevention Laboratory, has published several recent studies on distracted driving:
- Youth's use of technology drives home need for evolution in distracted walking, bicycling and driving policies
- Personality may dictate how distracted you are while driving
The core of Stavrinos’ work is the prevention of injury, particularly unintentional injuries like those that result from distracted driving behaviors. She conducts the studies in a first-of-its kind driving simulator lab on campus.
Link to Stavrinos bio.
To secure an interview with Stavrinos, contact Katherine Shonesy, public relations specialist, at (205) 975-3997 or [email protected].
UAB News Studio is available for live or taped interviews with UAB experts: IFB: 205-975-3190
Studio contact:
Jeff Myers, 205-639-3128
ISDN:
205-214-6389
205-214-6390
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Also available via Skype: uabmedia.relations