Study: Hands-Free Cell Phones Endanger Drivers
Aug. 27, 2005 — -- Hands-free cell phones have long been considered a must for safety-conscious drivers, and many states have passed laws requiring drivers to use them instead of a hand-held phones. But researchers at the University of Illinois have tested the hands-free approach and found it to be just as dangerous as driving with a cell phone in your hand.
Their findings suggest that what was once thought of as passive listening actually is as distracting as talking.
"We wanted to look at different aspects of conversation," said Tate Kubose of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois. "Does it matter whether you are talking, or does it matter whether you are listening? So we looked at each of those separately, and we found that that they both have a negative impact on driving performance."
The scientists used a virtual car ride to study how cell phones can divert attention away from the road -- and found that people had a tough time maintaining a fixed speed or keeping their car in the lane while trying to process what they heard on a headset.
The study also revealed different types of listening can distract us more or less. For example, you can tune out the radio if you need to, and if a person is sitting next to you in the car, he or she can tell when the road needs more attention than the conversation. But that's not true with a cell phone.
"The person on the other end of cell phone doesn't know what's going on in the driving environment, and they just keep on talking, and they just keep on expecting to hear immediately back from you," Kubose said.
Mantill Williams, Director of Public Affairs for AAA, agreed that engaging in any type of cell phone conversation while driving can be dangerous.
"Hands-free is not risk-free," Williams said. "Anything that takes your attention away from the complex task of driving can turn into a dangerous or deadly distraction."
