Don’t Dial and Drive

June 30, 2006 By Geoff Duncan

A new study from the University of Utah finds drivers who talk on their mobile phones are just as impaired as those driving drunk.

I must admit to feeling some self-righteous vindication here, because a new study from the University of Utah confirms something I’ve been saying (even shouting) for years: drivers who talk on their cell phones are just as impaired—and perhaps just as dangerous—as drunk drivers. Furthermore, the study found that use of hands-free cell phones was just as distracting as using a handheld phone.

The study from the University of Utah’s David Strayer is published in the summer issue of the Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (PDF).

“Although we all have our suspicions about the dangers of cell phone use while driving, human factors research on driver safety helps us move beyond mere suspicions to scientific observations of driver behavior,” said Human Factors Editor Nancy J. Cooke, who praised the study.

The study analyzed the actions of 40 participants who each took four passes through a driving simulator: one pass had no distractions, one used a handheld phone, one used a hands-free cell phone, and one pass was conducted while the participants were intoxicated with a 0.08 percent blood alcohol level (courtesy of vodka and orange juice). The study found no significant difference between the level of distraction created by the use of either handheld and hands-free cell phones while driving: participants were 9 percent slower to brake, 24 percent more varied in their following distance, and 19 percent slower to resume normal speed after braking. Three phone-using participants rear-ended the simulated pace car. One analysis found that cell-phone using drivers were 5.36 times more likely to get into an accident than undistracted drivers.

Intoxicated participants were apt to drive more slowly than either undistracted or cell phone-using drivers, but they were likely to be more aggressive. Intoxicated drivers followed the pace car more closely, were twice as likely to brake only four seconds before a collision would have occurred, and slammed the brakes with 23 percent more force. The intoxicated drivers didn’t get any accidents, which researchers possibly attributed to having conducted the tests during mornings, when the participants were likely to be reasonably well-rested. Most drunk driving accidents

Showing 3 comments

Todd Warfel at 5:50am 3rd July 2006 I didn't believe the study that was done a few years ago showing that cell phones didn't lead to more accidents. Thankfully, we have something that shows otherwise. I can't even remember the number of times I've been nearly run off the road by someone, only to look over and see them talking on their phone and not paying attention to the road. I was even rearended by a guy several years ago, while stopped at a stop light at around 1am in the downtown of a major metro city. And guess what, he was dialing on his phone and didn't see thw red light.

Several months ago, I got side-swiped by an 18-wheeler hauling cars. Guess what he was doing... talking on his phone and didn't even notice I was right next to him when he pulled over into my lane.

Yes, theoretically, any distraction is a problem. And while I don't think that reading a map or birdwatching while your driving is safe, there's a lot more cell phone driving going on these days that other distractions. Or at least, in my experience, almost every time I've been nearly rear ended, run off the road, or cut off, the driver has been on a cell phone.
Lindsay Hunter at 1:10pm 1st July 2006 WHile I am not surprised by the results but concur with Linda Lukens. The distractions are endless. One that I noted early was the distraction provided by the requirement of professional drivers, particularly ppolicement, who are required to watch the people and the road at the same time, and to talk on VHF radio, that latter on matters that can be alarming, and shocking, and often require full attention and early action. These may even eclipse managing truculent pre teens in the back seat. The research is on the right track but is incomplete.
Linda Lukens at 4:34pm 30th June 2006 Cell phones are only one distraction. How about a study on talking to passengers, talking to your kids, (or scolding your kids that are fighting in the back seat, for that matter), eating, drinking, watching the world go by, birdwatching (an activity my husband indulges in whether or not he is driving that drives me crazy, as he cranes his head backwards to see the hawk that just flew over our car), map or directions checking, just to name a few. In a perfect world, we would all do nothing except drive, talk to no-one, eat nothing, be thirsty, and let our kids kill each other in the backseat. Cell phone use is villified because it is easly identifiable, but the reality is, it's a distracting world, and we all must do our best to keep our eyes on the road.