Cell phone use

[Poppajack747]

Study finds no difference between hand-held and hands-free cell phone use in crashes:
http://www.iihs.org/news_releases/2005/pr071205.htm

[ryogajyc]

The article is interesting, but I think the one-line summary was a bit simplistic.

The study noted that handsfree phones weren't really handsfree in that most handsfree sets still require some some use of hands to use. Also, they did not have enough data on true (i.e. voice-activated) handsfree sets to make any meaningful analysis.

The Prius seems to fall somewhere in between pseudo-handsfree and real handsfree. I haven't been able to find a way to dial using voice commands (someone please correct me if there is a way), but it does have steering wheel controls which is relatively handsfree (doesn't require reaching over to the MFD to use).

[TonyPSchaefer]

I saw on the news a couple years ago about a study performed by Carnegy-Mellon University. They studied pupil movement of people driving in various situations:
* Just driving
* Driving with a passenger engaged in conversation
* Driving with a cell phone held to their ear, conversing
* Driving with a hands-free cell phone, conversing

Their findings?
When the driver is not talking to anyone - there or on the phone - their pupils are constantly scanning the horizon and they are more alert. When the driver is talking to anyone - there or on the phone - their pupil movement narrows and the driver becomes less alert.

There was no significant difference between holding the cell phone to the driver's ear versus hands free. There was also no significant difference between talking to someone on the phone versus talking to a live passenger.

[ryogajyc]

I sort of jumped the gun on my first reply in terms of conclusions. I still think the one-line summary is a bit misleading about what the study says. But from personal experience, I definitely know that talking with someone, regardless of their location (passenger seat, other end of phone w/ or w/o handsfree) makes me less alert during driving. I miss turns and exits all the time and I have a running joke with a friend (who also has the same problem) that we aren't capable of talking and driving at the same time. :P I just always thought it was a character trait rather than a general human trait (I'm very focused single-task person and don't multi-task well).

I still do expect that even though alertness falls, a handsfree does add some benefit. Holding a phone while driving seems a much more dexterously challenging task (i.e. driving one-handed) especially when it comes to making turns and I would expect during evasive maneuvers. I guess if alertness drops such that the person never thinks to do the evasive maneuvers, it may be a moot point.

[DaveinOlyWA]

i saw a similiar study in person and also on Mythbusters and both concluded that talking on the cellphone using any method degraded driving performance.

the former study did find in some cases that handsfree with a good headset did help a little if the driver could hear the caller easily.

simply put. anything that distracts our attention at a certain level will affect your driving performance. its funny that listening to the radio doesnt affect us measurably make me wonder that as we become more accustomed to talking on a cellphone if we will not become better at it. however you have to realize that even if using the radio as a karoke machine, radio simply does not put the same interactive demands on our brains.

i have talked while driving and nearly always use a headset and voice activation and its obvious to me that my driving suffers when i am on the phone and its much more pronounced when the conversation is on greater than the most casual of conversations. if i dont increase my attention to where i am going, i feel that im a greater risk to myself and others around me. in this respect, i dont feel i lack the skills to multi-task more than anyone else.

so what is your honest evaluation of your driving and talking skills?

[TonyPSchaefer]

A Psychology professor once told us that the brain is a "gateway organ" meaning that it is truly able of processing only one thing at 100% efficiency at any given time.

If you do two things at once, you will do neither at 100% efficiency. Both will be hindered.

He gave an example: If you have ever been driving in unfamiliar territory, looking for a street sign or house number, you most likely will turn down the radio. Why? Does the radio affect your vision? No, but the noise affects your brains ability to concentrate.

[Fredatgolf]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA\";p=\"108290)</div>

so what is your honest evaluation of your driving and talking skills?[/b]

Pitiful! From now on I am putting a time limit on my calls and when my wife is in the car, let her do most of the talking. However, with Bluetooth, you can't help but hear what is going on and I really don't keep quiet very well.

[DaveinOlyWA]

very astute observation Tony, and you are right, i turn off the radio too if looking for some place i am new to.

[ryogajyc]

The MythBusters test was using cell phones without handsets with three types of driving which incuded an accelerate then stop test, a maneuvering course, and an object avoidance test. I had some problems with their test, b/c the 2nd and 3rd test both require steering that would be difficult to do one-handed (i.e. turning and swerving). I feel that even just holding a block of wood to your ear would significantly impair to your ability to do the last two tests.

I do agree that talking on a cell phone is distracting, but it was unclear from the MythBusters episode whether it was the one-handed steering or the actual conversation that caused the bad driving.

[DaveinOlyWA]

one handed steering on a known course is not difficult unless you dont have power steering is the point they were trying to make. also they had problems following simple instructions while driving, etc. they all admitted their driving was impaired by "talking" on the cellphone and the one admitted that they thought hands free wouldnt help because of the diversion of their concentration caused by the call, not the holding of the device