Mitchell Jackson

Cell Phone Info Report

Hands-Free Cellphone Usage

Various studies in the United States, Canada, and Australia have all concurred

that talking on a cellphone while driving increases the driver’s risk for self-harm

and property damage fourfold (1). In response to these findings, 38 states have

banned the use of hand-held cell phone while driving. This report’s purpose is to

show that the known risk of driving while on a phone should not be solely

associated with hand-held use, but also with the use of hands-free technology.

Hands-free systems can cause huge physical and mental distractions that unaware

drivers must be publically educated on. This education will enable drivers to fix

their hazardous behavior.

Safety Problems: Physical Aspect, Cognitive Aspect

In a study done by the Highway

Loss Data Institute, four U.S. states’

collision (per-driver) rates were

observed immediately after hand-held

cellphone use was banned and were

monitored for up to two years

afterward. The study revealed that

there was no material drop off in the

collision rate per driver post-ban. (2)

Adrian Lund, president of the HLDI and

conductor of the research stated "If

crash risk is known to increases with phone use and fewer drivers use phones

Figure 1Collision Claims Before/After Hand Held Cellphone Ban

Collision rates are sporadic for these four states and show no discernable decrease after the law was passed, just irregular movement.

Photo Source: http://www.iihs.org/, 2010

Mitchell Jackson

Cell Phone Info Reportwhere it's illegal to do so, we would expect to see a decrease in crashes. But we just

aren't seeing it.”(2) This lack of a correlation has led researchers to turn to hands-

free technology in order to assess if its increasing use is contributing to the safety

risks that known to exist while talking on a phone when driving.

1) http://www.nsc.org/DistractedDrivingDocuments/Cognitive-Distraction-White-Paper.pdf2) http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/laws-banning-cellphone-use-while-driving-fail-to-reduce-crashes-new-insurance-data-indicate

Hands-free is used to describe technology that enables the driver to talk on

the phone or send text messages via voice commands, which allows he/she to keep

their hands on the wheel. However a lot of these features are not 100% hands free

and cause physical distractions to the driver. The use of hands-free tech may cause

the driver to have to complete various distracting tasks such as dialing a phone

number manually, reading texts in order to respond, or correcting the system when

it makes a mistake. For context, using with your phone manually, whether that be to

text or interact with an app increases risk for collision 23 fold. (3) Recent makers of

hands-free technology that have integrated their products into car dashboards have

come up with ways to limit these physical distractions, but have failed to respeffect

the aspect of mental distraction.

The cognitive aspect of the problem

has to do with the brain and how distracted

it can be while trying to balance driving and

keeping a conversation.

An experiment conducted by Carnegie

Mellon’s neuroscientist Marcel Just, used an

MRI machine to look at the brain’s activity

Figure 2Brain Activity Focused on Driving

Brain activity on driving was reduced 37% when listening to a cellphone conversation; participants also had increased bad driving habits.

Source: http://www.cmu.edu/, 2009

Mitchell Jackson

Cell Phone Info Reportwhile participating in a phone conversation while driving. She found that the

conversation limited the driver to 63% of their usual brain activity in their parietal

lobe, which is the amount available while driving under the influence of

approximately .08 BAC. (4) The inability of the brain to multi-task also presents a

huge hazard to driver reaction time due to the brain’s need to rapidly switch focus

back and forth between driving and participating in a phone conversation. In a

research study done by the Transportation Research Board, the “switching cost” of

multitasking lead to 33% delayed braking reaction and problems staying in lane. (5)

3)http://www.nsc.org/pages/home.aspx?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=infographic&utm_campaign=handsfree4) http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2009/September/sept3_cellphonefmri.shtml

Possible Solutions: Public Education

A recent poll conducted National Safety Council (NSC) shows that 80% of U.S.

drivers believe that hands-free cell phones are safer than using handheld. (6)

However, the scientific evidence provided in this paper as

well as 30 other scientific studies have proved there is no

material added safety benefit gained by going hands-free.

(6) Due to this lack of knowledge, the only logical starting

point for fixing the problem is public education. The good

news for Verizon is that this solution has been proven to

work in the past. For example, from 1984 to 2004 the

seatbelt use rate jumped from 14% to 84% largely due

to the effective public education in schools, as well as a

catchy legislative program known as “click it or ticket it”

(7). Public education of the risks of drunk driving is

Figure 3:Seatbelt

Requirement Sign

“Click-it or Ticket!” signs helped American’s change their behavior, now its what many people do first when entering a vehicle.

Source: mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/2002

Mitchell Jackson

Cell Phone Info Reportalso a comparable situation. Since Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) was

found in 1980, yearly drunk driving deaths have dropped from 21,113 to 10,107 in

2013 (8). Their reform and education helped to get laws passed outlawing drunk

driving and lower the lower the illegal BAC from .10 to .08. (8) These examples all

succeeded due to education combined with legislation. However, at this point in

time it is unrealistic to pursue legislation without public support for the problem,

and that is why public education must be pursued first.

Conclusion

Hands free technology was made to make talking while driving safer and has

successful convinced the American public that it accomplishes this, but in the end is

ineffective in getting rid of the large cognitive distraction that cell phones present.

With cell phone use growing each year the problem is not going away. Verizon

should start to publically support groups against distracted driving and inform the

public of the large safety risks they take when talking on a phone while driving, in

hopes of getting future legislation passed.

5) 60 Muttart, J. W., Fisher, D. L., Knodler, M., & Pollatsek, A. (2007). Driving Simulator Evaluation of Driver Performance… Driving without a Clue. Transportation Research Board 2007 Annual Meeting. Washington, DC6) http://www.enddd.org/distracted-driving-updates/april-distracted-driving-awareness-month-hands-free-is-not-risk-free-nsc-infograph/7) http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811544.pdf8)http://www.madd.org/drunkdriving/about/history.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/?referrer=http://www.madd.org/drunk-driving/about/history.html