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.

Dangers of Talking While Driving

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."

Distractions More Common Than Cell Phones

At least 1.5 million vehicle crashes each year are a result of distracted drivers, Williams said.

There are many other causes for distractions besides cell phones. In fact, cell phones didn't even make AAA's list of Top Five driving distractions. They were:

1. Objects outside the car (scenery, etc.)

2. Adjusting the radio

3. Passengers in the car

4. Adjusting climate controls

5. Eating and drinking

Such distractions reflect the reality of the driving experience, Williams said.

"What this tells you is that yes, you do need to pay attention when you're on your cell phone, but you also need to pay attention when you're eating or when you're dealing with your kids, or when you're fiddling with the radio," Williams said.

"Distracted driving is not a new issue," he added. "The problem was around long before cell phones. And cell phones are not, nor will they probably ever be, the main culprit."

Yet, laws focus on using the cell phone while driving, rather than changing radio stations. Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia all have laws limiting cell phone use in cars, with many requiring drivers to use hands-free cell phones.

"I think the cell phone is the one distractor we all love to hate," Williams said. "Politicians respond to that. They are making their constituents happy by addressing this whether or not it's the real problem."