Mobile Phones Have On Cognitive Processes

Although cellphone use can provide drivers with various benefits, such as optimized commute time, navigation, and entertainment, the risks far outweigh any perceived advantages. Acts of multitasking, such as texting while driving, divides a person’s attention (Konig et al., 2005). This places substantial demand on a person’s restricted cognitive resources (Konig et al., 2005). For example, 14% of all American adults say they’ve physically bumped into another person or an object because talking or texting on their phone distracted them (Madden & Rainie, 2010). This shows that being engrossed by ones cellphone can affect even automatic processes like walking. As

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.

There are both cognitive and physical factors that contribute to accidents when drivers talk on their cell phones and/or text behind the wheel. The primary cognitive factor is that an individual’s attention is divided when he or she is paying attention to more than one thing at a time (Goldstein, 2011). For example, a driver’s attention is on the road and perhaps how far the car ahead of him/her is, but at the same time is also trying to read a text message on a cellular device. This divided attention reduces the reaction speed and driving performance of the driver because there are not as many cognitive resources available to focus his/her attention on the most important thing: driving. When the driver is processing

Most teens, and even adults, use their cellphones while they drive. They think a quick text or call won’t hurt while they are at a red light. They call it multitasking, and think that since they have a hand on the wheel they are fine. In the articles “How The Brain Reacts” by Marcel Just and Tim Keller, and “The Science Behind Distracted Driving” by KUTV, Austin they describe how the mind is working in the cellphone situation.

1). Texting and using a cell phone are the two most common distractions while driving (“Distracted” para. 1). It Can Wait campaign has started to stop drivers from using handheld devices (“Distracted” para. 3). Distractions affect one’s driving performance (“Distracted” para. 5). Drivers are distracted around half the time they drive (“Distracted” para. 5).15% to 25% of crashes on all levels are caused by distraction (“Distracted” para. 5). Texting increases the driving risk, even more than regular cell phone use (“Distracted” para. 5). When cops fill out crash reports, the states should keep track of them (“Distracted” para. 6). There are many distraction while driving that may cause the driver to take focus off the road (“Distracted” para. 8). Some distraction that everyone does is : changing the radio or a CD, talking to passenger, and observing the event outside the vehicle (Distracted para. 8). There are effects on telematics on driving behaviors (“Distracted” para. 9). Some say that the electronic device companies need to inform the public about the real use of these devices (“Distracted” para.

In this age of multitasking, the use of cell phones is combined with assignments like cooking, driving, babysitting, walking, doing college assignments and even eating. Whereas the use of cell phones while doing some chores might be simply annoying, the consequence of using cell phone with driving can be fatal. Recent polls by the Pew Research Center and other researchers show that about fifty to ninety percent young Americans admit using their cell phone while driving. This includes about thirty six percent who said they texted or typed something whiles driving. (Lopresti-Goodman, Rivera, & Dressel, 2012). The practice of using phone particularly texting while driving has increased the number of distracted driving accidents. When the cell phone records of people involved

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

While driving was developing into a more popular and affordable means of transportation, cell phone use was rapidly increasing in and out of automobiles. The combination of these technologies resulted in a large amount of cellular based distractions; consequently, they can cause serious injuries and in extreme cases death. In Cohen’s “Deadly Distraction” and Leone’s “Taking on Distracted Driving”, the authors discuss the severity of utilizing a cellular device while operating an automobile. Both of these articles were written to accomplish a similar objective: to inform the public of the negative effects on the community of distracted driving. Everyone in society is affected by distracted driving

Therefore, we want to inform you about three deadly distractions found with cell phone use. One article (CDC et al., 2015), explains in simple terms, “There are three main types of distraction; visual, (taking your eyes off the road), manual, (taking your hands off the wheel), and cognitive, (taking your mind off of driving).” (para. 1). There are six variables with cell phone driving behaviors; all of which have a bleak end. According to researchers and predictors of distracted cell phone driving, Tian and Robinson (2016), “The data suggest that the attitude variable predicted intention to engage in all six distracted driving behaviors (reading and sending text message, making and answering cell phone calls, reading/viewing social media), and posting on social media while driving.” (para. 1). These behavior variables can lead to unsafe driving. Moreover, the law would be enforced on DWD violators.

“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.

In 2007, 64% of US adults admitted to texting while driving despite the fact that 89% approved of laws that would ban the practice (Richtel, 242). Cell phone users, even though they are aware that texting and driving is dangerous, continue to text behind the wheel anyway. In A Deadly Wandering, Matt Richtel demonstrates that most drivers simply cannot help but be distracted by their cell phones as a result of both behavioral and neurological factors.

To begin with, the use of mobile technology and portable communication devices while driving, as opposed to other causes of accidents, has contributed to the most fatalities among licensed adolescents and adults. If one is devoting all of his/her attention to an electronic device, he/she cannot be completely aware of the possible dangers of the area, for one’s line of vision and overall attention has been limited to a small screen. Also, a man fulfilling a task on his mobile telephone has thus restricted the total amount of control over his vehicle to only one hand, making it immensely difficult to manage his path of travel. When a driver is distracted, one might unnoticingly exceed the posted speed limits, run red lights and stop signs, or even collide with a pedestrian or other vehicle, labeling it the most frequent and fatal cause of traffic related casualties in the

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’’

Driving while focused on other tasks may cause increased traffic mishaps and accidents. Information processing of parallel processing systems suffers from bottlenecks, and may have implications in information processing which may be the case with the use of cell phones causing distractions while people are driving (Anderson, 2015). A bottleneck within central cognition stream is a central bottleneck and may cause significant effects while trying to think about two things at the same time (Anderson, 2015). As tasks are practiced they become more automatic, there seems to need less processing in central cognition. According to a Strayer and Johnston’s published study in 2001, Driven to distraction; dual-task studies of simulated driving and conversing on a cellular telephone incorporates a

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.