Ravenwood - 06/10/05 07:30 AM
When the war against driving with cell phones started, pundits pointed out that it's not the phone that's distracting, it's the conversation. We also pointed out that other activities like eating, reading, and fiddling with the CD player while driving are much more dangerous.
Now the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is saying that using hands free kits while driving is just as dangerous as talking directly into the handset.
The research adds to a growing body of studies that suggest hands-free cell-phone systems do not deliver the safety benefits automakers and legislators had thought.Jeff Greenberg, director of Ford Motor Co.'s driving simulator, said "The preponderance of evidence suggests that long conversations while driving impair your ability to react to events. . .But it would be difficult to make rules about conversations in vehicles."But whether drivers use a handheld device or not, "phone use degraded both driving performance and vehicle control," said NHTSA's Elizabeth Mazzae, according to the paper.
Hands-free devices can give drivers a false sense of security, as research has shown that it is the act of conversation that leads to distraction and inattentive driver behavior, NHTSA officials have said.
A passenger adjusts his conversation with the driver according to whether or not the driver ought to be paying attention to something else; a cell phone caller cannot.
Ron,
You've obviously never met my wife - "Look at that House there!!!" "Oh, look what a pretty baby over there" "You ass, you never pay attention to me in the car, you never look when I say look!!!"
:)
Posted by: countertop at June 10, 2005 9:19 AMBasically, the problem is that some people cannot hold a conversation while they are driving or doing anything else that uses any thinking. Such individuals would probably have trouble walking and chewing gun simultaneously, and should not be using cell phones.
Posted by: Robert Garrard at June 10, 2005 10:42 AMGee. What about a law against "reckless driving"? Better yet, forget the law--let the insurance companies reduce driver benefits when an accident occurs because of a driver's inattentiveness.
Parents yell at their kids. Drivers yell at other drivers. Drinking and eating definitely reduce a driver's ability to react. So does smoking, especially a cigar or pipe. House hunting, trying to find an address, loud music, books on tape, etc. Cell phones aren't the only culprit.
Posted by: Lornkanaga at June 10, 2005 6:26 PMTrue, Lornkanaga, but tests have shown that people using cell phones have worse reactions than those who have imbibed alcohol. A person using a phone is more focused on the phone than one wno is talking to a passenger.
Posted by: Robert Garrard at June 10, 2005 7:41 PMI use a handsfree cellphone in the car, not because I think it improves my driving attention, but because holding a cellphone to my ear was giving me back/shoulder pain.
It is very distracting to talk on the phone in the car, handsfree or not, it makes no difference. I blame speed limits. If I could drive as fast as conditions allow, say 100mph down the MOPAC expressway, I wouldn't feel compelled to yak on the phone.
Posted by: Paul at June 10, 2005 8:54 PMRon, you've never met my wife either. It's not just that she talks continuously (her brothers agree that if she was silent for five minutes, she'd swell up and explode), but she's also a master of bad timing. When traffic is worst is when she'll mention that she saw a nice pair of diamond earrings on sale.
Posted by: markm at June 11, 2005 8:09 AM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
