Driving and talking on a cell phone similar to drunken driving, study finds

[Dr. Jack]

By Nancy McVicar
South Florida Sun-Sentinel Health Writer


Talking on a cell phone while driving is as dangerous as driving drunk, new federally funded research shows, and it doesn't matter whether you use a hands-free model or hold the phone up to your ear during the conversation.

The study, by University of Utah researchers, adds to a growing body of evidence that conversing by phone while behind the wheel can be hazardous.

"We found that when people talk on a cell phone they are as impaired as they are when they drive intoxicated at the legal blood-alcohol limit [of 0.08]. It was a surprise to us," said Frank Drews, one of the Utah researchers who has published earlier studies showing drivers on the phone are at higher risk of accidents.

The peer-reviewed study is being published today in the quarterly Human Factors, the journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, which promotes the study of how humans, machines and other devices interact most optimally. The study was funded by a $25,000 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration, which is interested in impaired attention in pilots, and by the researchers.

Drews and co-author David Strayer said legislators might want to use the findings to consider outlawing cell phone use while driving.

The cell phone industry has issued guidelines for drivers using phones but maintains that under certain conditions it is safe to talk and drive. Among the guidelines: Place calls only when not moving, use a hands-free device and don't engage in stressful conversations.

"Dialing can be a risky behavior, and that's what we tell people -- never drive and dial," said John Walls, vice president of public affairs for CTIA-The Wireless Association, which represents the wireless telecommunications industry and issued the guidelines before the most recent study came out. "Decide whether you really need to make or take the call, and if it's a must, there are things you should do to do it responsibly."

The states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and 40 countries have put restrictions on using a phone while at the wheel, according to the Insurance Information Institute. But many are only partial bans that allow the use of hands-free models.

The Utah researchers say that's not enough.

"We have shown in previous studies there's no difference between hand-held and hands-free," Drews said. "There is a [more dangerous] component when people are dialing the phone or searching for the cell phone in the briefcase on the seat beside them, but what distracts people when talking on a cell phone is the conversation, not holding the phone."

The researchers recruited 40 men and women ages 22 to 34 and tested them as they operated a PatrolSim driving simulator equipped with a steering wheel, dashboard instruments and brake and gas pedals from a Ford Crown Victoria sedan. While at the wheel, the driver was surrounded by screens showing daylight freeway traffic.

The test was performed on four different days -- once when they were unimpaired and undistracted. On subsequent tests, each drove once while talking on a hand-held cell phone; once while talking on a hands-free phone; and once after drinking vodka and orange juice until they reached a 0.08 blood alcohol level.

When driving while talking on either type of cell phone, the driver was engaged in casual conversation with a research assistant on topics of interest to the driver.

Among the findings:

Three of the 40 drivers failed to stop in time and crashed into the rear of the pace car, and all were talking on a cell phone at the time. By comparison, none of the drunken drivers crashed during the tests. Drews said the drunken drivers came in for the test well-rested and drank their orange juice and vodka at 9 a.m., while most accidents in which alcohol plays a role occur between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. when drivers are fatigued, which may account for the difference.

Drivers using either type of cell phone were 9 percent slower to hit the brakes when the car in front of them braked and were 19 percent slower to resume the normal speed after braking than unimpaired drivers.

Drivers on cell phones displayed 24 percent more variation in their following distance as their attention drifted between driving and their phone conversation.

Drunken drivers drove more aggressively than cell phone or unimpaired drivers, followed the pace car more closely, and were twice as likely to brake only four seconds before a collision would have occurred.

A number of other studies have looked at driving while talking on the phone. Earlier this year researchers at the University of Illinois analyzed 23 studies and found consistent patterns of inattention, such as slow reaction times. "There were clear costs to driving performance when drivers were engaged in cell phone conversations," they concluded.

The analysis also found that hands-free and hand-held conversations both affected driving performance.

[BigNuttsSpartanFan]

But it's still not as bad as drunk driving while talking on your cell phone. I've done that more than my share of times.

[Ron Mexico]

The worst I have seen was a older asian lady talking on the phone and smoking a siggy. Thats what ya call a suicide bomber!!!!

[ghoopin]

Originally Posted by Ron Mexico

The worst I have seen was a older asian lady talking on the phone and smoking a siggy. Thats what ya call a suicide bomber!!!!

That should be a felony. Was she drunk?? LOL

[Bobtheicon]

Smokers stink