People tend to think of time spent driving as wasted, and try to use it to multitask, most commonly by talking on the phone. I know people who specifically use the time driving to catch up on their phone calls. While most people know (or should know) that using a hand-held mobile phone while driving is not a good idea (and it is banned in some states and countries), many have the impression that using hands-free devices (as many cars have now) is safe. But that is not true. There has been considerable research to show that hands-free devices are as distracting to drivers, making them as dangerous to use. This article summarizes the research.
There is no better example of cognitive distraction than distracted driving, which is where the rubber literally touches the road. While behind the wheel of a car, a significant level of distraction can accompany one action in particular: phone usage. For some, this can result in severe driving impairment. It represents a serious danger hidden within the connective rhythms of our everyday lives.
Safety advocates go further and argue that even hands-free versions of calling, texting and internet usage while driving can be dangerous. And yet, it is possible to infer the opposite from the world around us. For example, those laws that ban handheld phones simultaneously allow for hands-free phone usage behind the wheel, perhaps implying that this is a safe thing to do. What’s more, the dashboards of contemporary cars are built with the expectation that drivers will be using their phones.
…During the past three decades, research in the field of cognitive science on this topic has yielded a core finding: both handheld and hands-free phone conversations are associated with a similar dangerous level of driving impairment. This body of research is extensive enough to be the subject of multiple meta-analyses and reviews over the years. These core findings appear in epidemiological studies that contrast things like phone records and hospital and accident data. They also show up in simulator and test-track experiments.
Simulator studies reveal associations between phone conversation and decreased situational awareness, as well as dangerous increases in driver reaction times to changing road conditions. Even ‘naturalistic’ studies that utilise in-cab videos of real-world driving are now able to confirm these dangers because the datasets have finally grown large enough to include information on real accidents.
…If hands-free calls have been found to be just as distracting as handheld calls, then the ‘hands-free phones’ at issue are things like your phone’s speakerphone functionality, or the use of a hands-free headset. However, these findings should apply equally to making hands-free calls from your car’s dashboard system, which can be paired with your smartphone. Despite what your car’s infotainment system might imply, there are serious risks associated with making these kinds of calls. Just because your dashboard touchscreen or steering wheel has a button allowing you to make calls, doesn’t mean this is a safe practice.
Of course, it should go without saying that other uses of these technologies are even worse, and yet many people still use them.
The ways that drivers can become distracted by connective technologies is not only limited to sending messages, making calls or using digital assistants. Some people use the internet in other ways while behind the wheel. A survey of more than 2,000 people released by AT&T in 2015 found that more than a quarter browsed online while driving, more than 15 per cent took and posted selfies, and 10 per cent used videochat. And this kind of internet usage while driving appears to be steadily increasing: in 2010, 17 per cent of those surveyed admitted to it. By 2020, that number had jumped to 36 per cent.
I have known about this research for a long time and even though my car has hands-free phone capability, I refuse to use it unless I am parked. If I get a call while driving, I either ignore it or, if I think it may be important, pull over to the side when it is safe to do so, and then call that person back. I have never received a call where the extra time taken do do this turned out to be critical. If I am not driving but get a call and discover that the person calling is doing so while driving, I politely end the call, telling them to call me later when they are not driving because I do not want to be a contributing factor to an accident. I am not sure if they stop the practice in general or think of me as some kind of crank and only avoid calling me from their phone, while continuing to do so with other people. I suspect that it is often the latter because people are so devoted to their phones.
While there has been much publicity about the dangers of using hand-held devices while driving, there is little publicity given to the fact that hands-free devices are no better. It may be that people are so wedded to using them that they just do not want to hear that they they should not nor publicize the truth about the dangers. And things are going to get worse.
Technological development isn’t going to slow down anytime soon. In fact, it’s likely to throw more distracting technologies our way, each allowing more seamless ways to connect with the world. But, as research shows, our brains can’t multitask effectively. Human beings are simply not capable of reliably processing multiple demands at the same time. Our cognitive limits are real, and so are the bad habits we form with our devices. In the end, it’s up to us – drivers, and users of connective technologies – to put safety over connectivity. The simplest solution? Accept that you’re not as good at multitasking as you might think, and keep your focus where it belongs: on the road.
I wish everyone would follow that advice in the last sentence.
People think they are great at multitasking when they simply are not. It is much better, and faster, to do things sequentially than to shift between different things.
This seems relevant:
Of course, more than half of traffic accidents are caused by eating in the car, but not one state has banned drive-through restaurants. The difference, of course, is that banning cell phone usage while driving doesn’t threaten anyone’s bottom line, while banning drive-throughs would seriously cut into the pocket books of numerous corporate donors.
The government is always willing to step in and save lives as long as it doesn’t inconvenience corporate America.
@ 2 Michael Suttkus
Of course, more than half of traffic accidents are caused by eating in the car
Do you have a citation for this?
I find it hard to believe. On the other hand, like Mano I have known about the phone use in the car research for a long time, for maybe 20 years.
Thanks for the clip VolcanoMan. Although I was a professional driver in my early life, I’ve been happily car-free for over 20 years. I hate having to waste so much attention and brain cycles constantly monitoring all the moving objects in my vicinity instead just chilling out and enjoying the scenery. Buses, trains and planes get me pretty much anywhere I need to go and only rarely need to rent a car to go somewhere. Life is less stressful and my wallet is healthier.