CELL PHONE WHILE DRIVING

Cell Phone While Driving



Cell Phone While Driving

Introduction

There are many activities that experts cite as being dangerous to do while driving. Drunk driving, eating while driving, and even changing the radio station while driving greatly impairs a person's ability to concentrate. While statistics show that the most common way that people put themselves at risk while driving is by using a cell phone, you can do your part to protect your friends and family by staying informed about the issues.(Hancock,2003)

Driving while talking on a cell phone not only takes your concentration away from the road, it also takes your eyes away from the road. The problem is especially strong among drivers under 18 due to their increased likelihood of text messaging while driving mixed with their tendency to take greater risks on the road. (Glater, 2002) Many parents are concerned about their children and check cell phone bills to see to what numbers they call and when calls are being made. Reverse phone lookups are a big resource for those concerned about who their children are talking to and why they put their own lives in danger to do so.

Discussion

There have been many proposals to combat the dangers of talking on a phone while driving. Many have suggested the use of a hands-free device. Hands-free devices allow a driver to keep both hands on the wheel. However, it does not remedy the distractions involved with being in a conversation while driving. It also does not present an alternative for text messaging. In the end, the only way to avoid the dangers of talking and driving is to stop talking and give your full attention to the road.( Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, 2004)

New research shows that people have greater difficultly maintaining a fixed speed, or keeping their car safe in a single lane when performing tasks that simulated conversing on a mobile phone, than if they were driving without the distraction. Contrary to expectation, the speaking and listening were equally distracting. (Glater, 2002) The research was conducted at the University of Illinois and will be published in the next edition of Applied Cognitive Psychology.

Almost 100 students took experiments in which they drove virtual cars. While driving they had to provide answers about the layout of buildings on their campus, or check that statements made by others about relative positions of building were correct. The researchers monitored various aspects of their driving performance while they performed these tasks. They showed that both speaking and listening had detrimental effects on driving. Participants were poorer at maintaining a stable speed, or keeping a constant distance between themselves and other traffic than when only driving. Paradoxically, there was some indication that when drivers had to speak while driving, their lane control increased even though speed control decreased. (Glater, 2002)

These results support the growing body of data suggesting that it is the cognitive task of conversing via phone, in addition to the physical task of handling the equipment, that impedes a person's ...