Hands free – Just as dangerous as using handset!

Posted on July 14, 2016

Talking on hands free mobile phone while driving can be as distracting as talking on a handheld mobile, according to new research that supports previous studies. The findings, published in the Transportation Research journal, suggest that drivers who are engaged in conversation are less likely to spot and react to hazards.

The study, carried out by the University of Sussex, involved three groups of 20 volunteers watching films shot from a motorist’s point of view. They were tasked with spotting hazards such as pedestrians stepping into the road or other vehicles pulling out. The first group was not distracted during the task, the second was distracted by requests to agree or disagree with statements that required them to use mental imagery, and the third cohort was tested with statements that did not require visualisation.

All the participants had at least 10 years’ driving experience and were not aware of the purpose of the exercise. Hazard detection and response times were worst among those who were asked to answer questions that required visualisation. Eye tracking showed that those who had to visualise were most prone to restricting their gaze to a small section of the road, reducing their hazard spotting capacity. “Telephone conversations may interfere with driving performance because the two tasks complete for similar processing resources, due to the imagery-evoking aspects of phone use,” say the authors.

In 2006 research was conducted in the US by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This estimated that up to 22% of crashes could be caused by driver distraction. And motorists who perform a secondary task at the wheel, are three times more likely to crash.

Road charity Brake, which has previously called for a ban on hands-free mobile phones while driving, has renewed its call for the government to restrict their use. Brake research adviser Lucy Amos said; “This new study is only the latest of many that adds weight to extending the legislation to cover all mobile phone use within a vehicle, not just the use of hand-held mobile devices. We call on the government to take action and remove the clear and present danger of mobile phones on our roads.”