Effect of Using a Hand-Held Cellular Phone and Listening to a Radio Broadcast on Driving Performance

We all are probably aware that texting and talking on the phone is a distraction to all drivers and can be very dangerous. Also, we all know there are many other distractions besides texting and driving, and any type of technology can cause a driver to be distracted. Forty-one percent of all drivers use their hands to text in the car while driving, according to Greg Gardner (52). It can cause people to forget about pedestrians or their surrounding areas. People who are distracted often aren’t focused and don’t have both hands on the wheel. According to Bryan Wilson, people may say that cell phones are easy to be pointed out as a problem, but statistics show the damage cell phones can do to a person while they are driving (6). According to Simon Usborne, time spent not looking at the road while talking on the phone is 15% of the time (68). Also, while texting and driving the time spent not looking at the road is 30% of the time (Usborne 69). As technology improves more and more people may feel the need to use their cell phones while driving. According to Melissa Healy, cell phone use can be as dangerous as drunk driving (42). Tests should be done to compare the various ways of sober people under the influence driving also to compare the impact of texting and driving. This would give us a better understanding of just how dangerous driving and being on our phone really is.

Cell phones are very helpful technological devices as long as they are not used as distractions in the car. Therefore, they should be used to drivers’ advantage.

“Distracted driving refers to any nondriving activity that takes motorists ' attention away from the safe operation of their vehicles” (Leone). Every time a driver gets in a vehicle and decides to use a cell phone to have a conversation, either talking or texting, they put themselves and others lives in danger. The convenience a cell phone and the capabilities they offer have made them a substantial distraction and a cause of significant source of vehicle accidents and fatalities. There are three different types of distractions: visual, manual and cognitive. Cell phone use is the most dangerous distraction because it involves all three different types of distraction and plays a part in the increasing issue of distracted driving. Even

In this article “Distracted Driving”, many distractions are mentioned other than just cell phone usage, such as changing the radio station or driving with kids in the back seat. It is stated that the dangers from distracted driving are because of the decrease in brain function and inability to pay full attention to the road. These practices lead to wrecks and in many cases death.

In the article “How The Brain Reacts” by Marcel Just and Tim Keller, the authors describe how they use science to show the brains reaction to what is happening around it when on the road. “Behavioral studies have shown that talking on a cellphone diverts the driver’s attention and disrupts driving performance.” They

Distracted driving is becoming the one of the highest causes of fatal accidents in youth. People are becoming more and more dependent on their mobile phones due to the economic and social benefits they provide. With advancement of technology and the more widespread use of smartphones distracted driving is become more dangerous than driving impaired. Driving itself needs full focus and attention with new technologies more focused on making mobile phones more easily compatible with cars it has become increasingly difficult to eliminate the problem cell phones and mobile phones cause when linked to each other. Studies show those using mobile devices while driving are 4-6 times more likely to get into a accident, With the risk so high many cell phone use while driving has been banned in many different countries around the world(fatal distractions). The second alternative is hands-free devices allowing drivers to accept calls, compile and send text messages with ought the use of hands, but using a mobile phone whether it be hands-free or not still hinders performance and deviates the focus of the driver. Car companies have recently countered this issue by implementing new technology in vehicles. For instance, cars now come equipped with built in blue tooth and exceptional pairing applications. This technology leads to inconclusive results of using a hand-held device.

The use of pulling a phone out while driving , particularly for texting and during phone to ear conversations , cause visual , manual and cognitive distraction (Thompson 4 ). When drivers pull out their phones they are taking more than 50% of their attention away from the roads, for example some

With new technology being introduced on almost a daily basis, it needs to be decided what ways are safe to use that technology. Advanced technology has created an abundance of things that can be used while driving. The most popular technology used while driving is the cell phone. Although it was invented in the 1970s, the cell phone did not gain momentum until the 2000s. Even during its first days, the effect of a cell phone distraction was already in the spotlight (Brown, Tickner & Simmonds, 1969). Allowing people to talk wherever and whenever, it became important to ensure this technology was not harming society. Driving is a complex cognitive task. Since its use boomed in the 21st century, several road problems and accidents were linked

Does talking on the phone while driving affect the driver? Drivers shouldn’t be able to use phones while driving because it can be extremely hazardous for not only them but their passengers, or others traveling along the same road. If changing a radio station is considered a major distraction to drivers, how is it not a distraction to look down to find your cell phone? Cell phones, have been known to cause wrecks that can even result in fatalities.

“A distracted driver may fail to see up to 50% of the available information in the driving environment. You may look but not actually “see” what is happening. Focus of the driver is not on the road or traffic and it becomes difficult to handle phone and vehicle at one time. Cell phones during driving also reduce the mental capacity of drivers as they fail to concentrate on minor or major activities happening around them. Cell phones distract drivers' attention resulting in comparatively slow response to traffic signals and other related traffic events. Studies have shown the fact that breaking reaction time is also slower while talking on a cell phone during driving. The perception, vision, general awareness, and concentration of the driver are impacted while communicating on a cell phone during driving. Especially during bad weather or driving on slippery roads, drivers engaging in conversation pay less attention to these areas increasing risks of fatal accidents.

Using a cell phone while driving has become the biggest manual distraction while driving.  According to a study, conducted by The University of Utah (2013),

In another study on the effects driving while talking on cell phones by Strayer and Johnston (2001) shows ‘’the subjects a simulated driving task that required them to apply the brakes as quickly as possible in response to a red light. Doing this task while talking on a cell phone caused subjects to miss twice as many of the red lights as when they weren’t talking on the phone’’

According to the author’s hypothesis in relation to inattention-blindness, when drivers are conversing on their cell phones, whether hands-free or hand-held, there is a deficit in their cognitive abilities. The results are impaired attention, with regards to their environment, while the driver’s attention is more focused on their conversation. Safety becomes an issue since these drivers are not analyzing important information about potential hazards. In addition, drivers having conversations with passengers in their vehicles were much better equipped to analyze their surroundings and thus less likely to experience inattention-blindness deficits in their cognitive abilities.

The use of cell phone is very dangerous for drivers while driving. The drivers are supposed to be alert and concentrated to their ambient surrounding. The use of cell phone catch their attention and make them less alert to their surrounding which can lead to serious destruction. The use of cell phone is more dangerous than the use of alcohol while driving. Because it took half a second longer for a cell phone users to react than a normal person and one third of a second longer than a persons in drunken condition.

Hands free cell phone usage should not be used while driving based on evidence that shows that the use a cell phone while driving leads to more driving mistakes and overall lack of awareness (Sanbonmatsu et al., 2015). Drivers that use cell phones make more serious and minor errors, but cannot recall making these errors due to a lack of awareness. These drivers are more unaware of their inconsistent speed, placement in lanes and near accidents than those that are not using a cell phone. Additionally, these drivers are less likely to self-regulate their driving efficiently like drivers not using cell phones because of this lack of awareness. This reduction in self-regulation moreover leads to an increase in both minor and major errors (Sanbonmatsu et al. 2015). To determine this, Sanbonmatsu et al. (2015) gathered participants and split them into either a control/no cell phone group and an experimental/cell phone group. These participants were then tested in a driving simulator with the control group simply running through the simulator while the cell phone group called a friend or family member and had a conversation on a hands free device. The results of this experiment indicated that even though the control group did still make errors, they had more awareness of those errors than the experimental group, and made less serious errors than the experimental group.