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June 2005
Cell phones & driving: deadlier than alcohol?
Distracted driving—whether the result of cell phones, the car stereo, or any number of other factors—is assumed to be more dangerous driving. An ITS Institute study has found that using a cell phone may impair drivers more than alcohol intoxication. The research, led by Nic Ward, director of the Institute's HumanFIRST Program, assessed the risk of cell phone use while driving compared to commonly accepted in-vehicle tasks, as well as driving while intoxicated.
The study included the work of HumanFIRST research scientist Mick Rakauskas, who presented the findings at the research conference, along with Ed Bernat, Meredith Cadwallader, and Professor Chris Patrick of the University of Minnesota's Psychology department.
"The drunk driver doing nothing was less impaired than the same person on a cell phone or playing with the radio," Ward said, describing details of the study. Researchers gathered data from test subjects outfitted with a device to measure brain activity and the driving simulator in the HumanFIRST lab. Half the test subjects drank alcohol to near intoxicating levels (just under .08 blood-alcohol content) as measured with a Breathalyzer.
Because evidence suggests that cell-phone use while driving may be a significant risk factor in traffic crashes, some states have responded by imposing restrictions on the use of hand-held phones. But Ward's research team, citing research that shows hands-free use is no safer than hand-held, has focused instead on the cognitive aspect of talking on a cell phone while driving. "It's actually the conversational component of operating a cell phone while driving that is the culprit," Ward said, "not just the physical manipulation of the phone."
Some industry efforts are aimed at locking out cell-phone functionality during busy periods, but until those technological developments are implemented, a driver's discretion is all that limits his or her cell-phone usage. Though he believes enforcement of legal sanctions is needed, Ward emphasized that driver education is necessary to understand the risks and to learn when it is safe to engage in secondary tasks.
"Banning cell phones isn't the solution," he concluded. "It's the appropriate use of cell phones."
The research was featured in articles in the St. Paul Pioneer Press and USA Today, and in segments airing on National Public Radio's All Things Considered and the local FOX television news affiliate. Rakauskas was interviewed at length for the segments.