Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger?

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

Same.

Luis

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

I think it depends on whether you are a visual or an auditory person. I find talking on my phone, using bluetooth (I have one, I use it if I need to use the phone), is just as distracting as using the phone itself. I'm basically a visual person, so talking to someone WHO ISN'T THERE is very distracting.

I limit all phone usage whilst driving.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

From Wikipedia:

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones_and_driving_safety]Mobile phones and driving safety - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

As compared to conversation with a passenger
The scientific literature is mixed on the dangers of talking on a cell phone versus those of talking with a passenger. The common conception is that passengers are able to better regulate conversation based on the perceived level of danger, therefore the risk is negligible. A study by a University of South Carolina psychology researcher featured in the journal, Experimental Psychology, found that planning to speak and speaking put far more demands on the brain’s resources than listening. Measurement of attention levels showed that subjects were four times more distracted while preparing to speak or speaking than when they were listening.[22] The Accident Research Unit at the University of Nottingham found that the number of utterances was usually higher for mobile calls when compared to blindfolded and non-blindfolded passengers across various driving conditions. The number of questions asked averaged slightly higher for mobile phone conversations, although results were not constant across road types and largely influenced by a large number of questions on the urban roads.[23] A 2004 University of Utah simulation study that compared passenger and cell-phone conversations concluded that the driver performs better when conversing with a passenger because the traffic and driving task become part of the conversation. Drivers holding conversations on cell phones were four times more likely to miss the highway exit than those with passengers, and drivers conversing with passengers showed no statistically significant difference from lone drivers in the simulator.[24] A study led by Andrew Parkes at the Transport Research Laboratory, also with a driving simulator, concluded that hands-free phone conversations impair driving performance more than other common in-vehicle distractions such as passenger conversations.[25]

In contrast, the University of Illinois meta-analysis concluded that passenger conversations were just as costly to driving performance as cell phone ones.[7] AAA ranks passengers as the third most reported cause of distraction-related accidents at 11 percent, compared to 1.5 percent for cellular telephones.[9] A simulation study funded by the American Transportation Research Board concluded that driving events that require urgent responses may be influenced by in-vehicle conversations, and that there is little practical evidence that passengers adjusted their conversations to changes in the traffic. It concluded that drivers' training should address the hazards of both mobile phone and passenger conversations.[26]

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

I think talking to a passenger is actually more distracting than talking on the phone via bluetooth, because I have a tendancy to want to have eye contact with the person I'm talking to...which means turning my head, or looking in the rear-view mirror to talk. Not constantly, but occassionally. Listening to someone talk over the bluetooth, to me, is almost like listening and singing along to the radio. I don't feel it's a distraction at all, but I DO believe it's different for different types of people.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

I also know that Mythbusters tested this out, but find it funny that they were asking very complex, mathmatical questions when they were on the phone. Most of my conversations go like this,
"Hello?"
"Hey, mom...I'm going to the grocery store, do you want me to buy anything?"
"Yeah, could you pick up a bag of chips and some cinnamon rolls?"
"Yep."
"Okay, see you home shortly."
"Bye."
"Bye."

There will be no way to generalize how distracting it is from person to person, because it's going to depend on the type of person on both ends of the conversation, the conversation itself, what the traffic is like, how the weather is...this could go on and on. Too many variables in my opinion.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

I beg to differ. When responding to someone via bluetooth, you feel compelled to respond right away, whereas on the other hand, if there's some noticeable disruption going on down the road (cars immediately stopping, etc.), both the driver and passenger can wait before continuing the conversation.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

You may, I do not
It also easier to hang up on someone, ( lost signal story ) if you do not like what they are saying

Or I guess you can use the set ejection button on the passenger I guess

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

Sure, like too many people will hang up and risk be perceived as rude whenever there's some minor distraction going on down the road.

The next time you see someone talking on the phone (in the house, etc.) notice how they don't focus their eyes on anything and won't notice anything you do in front of them. You basically have to do jumping jacks in order to gain their attention.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

That makes sense - no wonder I don't feel that distracted when "talking" to my passenger wife. That is just like listening to the radio

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

Common sense tells us it's the same. Science says bluetooth is more distracting. Just like common sense tells us the world is flat (I mean, look out your window - does it look round to you?) while science tells us otherwise. In both cases, I'll go with science.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

when i first got a car phone, i found my concentration much worse than talking to a passenger. perhaps because i've talked to passengers as long as i've been driving and talked to drivers as a passenger most of my life. i found i could only concentrate on the phone conversation or the road, but not both. i stopped using the phone while driving until hands free came along. i tried again with no better success. voice dialing, better than by hand but the conversation didn't improve. bluetooth, same thing. not scientific, but personal experience. and, it's amazing how many accidents occur while people are on the phone, but maybe they would have happened anyway?

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

I never talk on the phone while driving. Usually, it's off. On the rare occasions when it's on, if it rings I'll look for a safe place to stop, check the caller ID, and return the call if I want to talk to them. So I have no personal experience for comparison.

But I believe it's more dangerous to talk on the phone because the absence of visual cues requires more concentration. Admittedly, a lot depends on the driver. It makes me very nervous when I'm a passenger and the driver keeps looking at me to talk to me. Clearly, it is best when a driver devotes all her/his attention to the road.

I never look at the passenger when I'm driving, and I never look at the driver when he talks to me. I keep my eyes straight ahead, and explain that I need to look ahead to prevent or reduce carsickness (which is true). Often that stops him from looking at me as well, since he knows I will not be returning his looks.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

This is not exactly the same as your question but it is non the less very important to know and understand:

Contrary to popular belief, the risk of accident caused by the use of a cell phone while driving is the same whether you use it in hand or hands free. In fact, the risk augmentation is due to a cognitive distraction, which is the same in both cases. The biomechanical distraction of holding the phone doesn't change the associated risk.

You can read the report made by Québec's National Institute of Public Health with both experimental and epidemiologic studies here: http://www.inspq.qc.ca/english/publications/default.asp?NumPublication=747.

Note that we have adopted a stupid law that makes the use of a in hand cell phone illegal and considers the use of a hands free device as secure (everybody has since turned into cyborgs with quasi permanent Bluetooth fixtures on their ears). I suspect the police made pressure to ensure that a law they could not apply would not pass (how do you arrest someone for speaking on his hands free cell phone... he could well be simply singing!). This has made many to believe the use of hands free cell phone to be safe... and may have augmented the numbers of accidents...

And to answer the original question, when talking with a passenger, he will tolerate "lag", interruptions and such bad conversational behaviour, as he is also aware of the surroundings and as he understand your main cognitive effort goes to the road. It is not the case while talking to someone on the phone.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

Hmmmm ... to me the world always looks like a circle - look around.

Anyway, I didn't see any conclusive science one way or the other. Some studies suggest no differece, and others say cell phone is more distracting. Where do you see conclusive science ?

 

Not enough options in the poll for me to respond...

I think it is less distracting to have someone driving w/bluetooth, than it is having a passenger that is talking to you while you are driving... especially if you are trying to be sweet on someone in the adjoining seat... and she's playing along...



And... where is the "I like pie" response...

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

On the contrary: I look out my window and the world does not look flat at all: it looks very bumpy. And I've been places where it is really REALLY bumpy.

 

Re: Do you think talking with someone by bluetooth is more distracting than talking with a passenger

For me personally, talking on Bluetooth is slightly more distracting than talking to a passenger but far less distracting than holding a phone to my ear.

I still prefer not having to talk on the phone at all while driving. Usually I only take calls from my wife or kids.

I wonder if anyone has done studies on how men differ from women when it comes to talking while driving (hands free or otherwise).