Why Hands-Free Devices Do Not Promote Safe Driving

The National Safety Council (NSC) estimates that more than one out of every four motor vehicle crashes involves cell phone use at the time of the crash. While most drivers agree they should not talk on handheld phones or text while driving, many also believe they can safely drive and talk on hands-free devices. Studies on inattention blindness, however, show that this is not the case.

The NSC’s 2010 white paper, “Understanding the distracted brain: Why driving while using hands-free cell phones is risky behavior,” details the many reasons why carrying on conversations on hands-free devices is just as dangerous as any other form of distracted driving. Regardless of the device, talking on a phone or texting behind the wheel requires the brain to multitask. However, the brain does not actually have the capability of focusing on two tasks at once; rather, it addresses tasks sequentially, switching from one to another.

Inattention blindness occurs when people do two cognitively complex tasks, such as driving and using a cell phone, causing the brain to shift focus. Although the brain may make this transition quickly, reaction time is delayed in the process. The delay caused by switching from task to task may cause drivers to miss information in their driving environment, slowing their reaction time and making it impossible to execute a safe response to avoid an accident. Hands-free devices present a unique hazard on the road because many drivers do not even realize the associated risk since they have their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

A Carnegie Mellon University study determined that simply listening to sentences on cell phones decreased activity by 37 percent in the parietal lobe, part of the brain that perceives movement, integrates sensory information and plays an important part in language processing. Activity also decreased in the occipital lobe, which processes visual information. Vision, of course, is the most important sense for safe driving. However, when drivers use cell phones, they look at but do not actually see or comprehend up to 50 percent of the information in their driving environment.

In fact, although they have their eyes on the road, drivers using hands-free devices are even less likely than others to see high and low relevant objects; visual cues; exits, red lights and stop signs; navigational signage; and the content of objects. It has been proven in many studies that driving while talking on cell phones, whether handheld or hands-free is very dangerous. The risk of crashes that result in injury and property damage increases fourfold when a cell phone is involved.

It is critical for your company to have a policy in place that restricts drivers from using cell phones, both handheld and hands-free, any time they are driving. Your drivers should always park in a safe and legal location before placing or taking a call. Prohibiting cell phone use will not only increase the safety of your drivers and the motoring public, but it could also protect your company from being held liable in the event of an accident.

As a reminder to drive distraction-free, Baldwin & Lyons is offering a Don’t Drive Distracted handout card, available in PDF format only. For additional video training resources on distracted driving, please refer to our Resource Library.

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