There are rumblings circulating Bermuda calling for the banning of cell phone use while driving. The topic comes up every so often and everyone likes to have a say. The poor cell phone, for some, is to blame for all of our road safety woes. Anyone using a cell phone while driving automatically becomes an “idiot”. Well, here’s one idiot’s take on the matter:
1- There is no question whatsoever that cell phone use while driving is a distraction that can lead to inattention. However, there seems to be a general misunderstanding as to the nature and relative importance of this distraction. There are many other factors both inside and outside the vehicle that can distract the driver from the task at hand. A number of studies have ranked the following distractors ahead of cell phone use: eating or drinking, events happening outside the vehicle, adjusting climate control or radio settings, consulting on-board GPS navigation screens, and conversations with passengers (Most would now agree that a conversation with someone on a cell phone is more dangerous than a conversation with someone in the vehicle because the passenger is aware of the current driving circumstance and will tend to cease conversation if he perceives danger whereas the person at the other end of the cell phone is oblivious to the driver’s environment.).
2- It has been shown over and over again that it is the cognitive aspects of cell phone use and not the mechanical ones that contribute most to the distraction. Sure, text messaging at the wheel requires both your dominant hand and your eyes and that’s obviously not too smart. However, the issue at hand is talking on a cell phone and the main consideration here is what percentage of your attention is dedicated to the conversation rather than to driving. “Hi honey, I’m on my way home.” takes up much less of your attention (I know not all husbands will agree ☺) than having an argument with your business partner. Furthermore, the longer the cell phone conversation, the more distracted the driver becomes.
3- It is also well proven that there is virtually no difference in cognitive distraction between a conversation using a hand-held phone and one using a hands-free unit. Remember, what takes your attention away from driving is the amount of brain power dedicated to the conversation and not the act of holding something in your hand. Yes, dialing a cell phone is a factor but nowhere as important than the intensity and length of the conversation.
4- Cell phones have become ubiquitous and are now viewed as a necessity rather than a luxury and this is becoming true even in developing countries. In this context, individuals place a great importance on being able to communicate anytime, anywhere with anyone they choose. There is a real or perceived benefit to using cell phones even while driving. The Harvard Center for Risk Analysis addressed this question in a series of studies. The studies conducted focus groups to examine the perceived benefits of cellular telephone use while driving. The studies found the following:
Individual/Family Benefits
• Peace of mind
• Reducing the number and duration of trips
• Expanding productive time
• Contacting emergency services
• Strengthening social networking
Community Benefits
• Decreased accident response times
• Improved knowledge about emergencies for emergency response teams (e.g. how to get to the scene, what equipment to bring)
• Improved life-saving outcomes
• More effective apprehension of criminals (such as drunk drivers)
Furthermore, economic studies by the same group suggest that the monetary value of using a cellular telephone while driving exceeds the cost, even when those costs include safety risks expressed in dollar units. Furthermore, compared to several other ways (lap/shoulder belts or daytime running lights) of improving traffic safety, restrictions on the use of cellular telephones while driving appear to be inefficient, i.e. they cost much more than other safety measures to produce similar safety outcomes.
5- Jurisdictions that have introduced cell phone bans have had little success in decreasing the prevalence of cell phone use by drivers. New York State was the first prohibit the use hand-held cell phones while driving. The implementation of the law was preceded by an extensive public awareness campaign. Prior to the law, 2.7% of drivers admitted to using a cell phone while driving. One year after the ban, cell phone use had dropped to 1.3%. However, one year later and in spite of heavy ticketing for the offense, the number of cell phone users had returned the pre-ban level of 2.7%
The current outcry to ban cell phone use while driving is, in my opinion, not completely justified. Instead of new legislation, government would do better spending money on increasing public awareness of these issues. The cell phone in use is the only really visible distractor to the outside observer so that’s the one we bitch about. Furthermore, to ban hand-held phone and not hands-free units accomplishes nothing more than hiding the problem of cognitive distraction. Driving without due care and attention is well covered in the present law and there is no need to single out one particular distractor. It would make much more sense for the powers that be to enforce the speed limit and the seatbelt/child restraint law rather than waste time, money and resources on yet another law, which is unlikely to be enforced.
Joseph Froncioni
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