Hey Shirley,
I have a question. One beautiful Friday afternoon I was driving back to Girdwood. I had wanted to ski that day but errands in Anchorage took priority. Coming around Windy Point three cars with skis were going the opposite direction. The sun was bright, but I could see into the cars. In each, the lone driver was wearing sunglasses and talking on his cell phone. How safe was that? “By the way, two of the three crossed the center yellow line.”
Dear Driver:
We must be on the same wavelength, I have been contemplating how technology is changing the way we relate to one another. I too, put myself in dangers way driving the Seward Highway multiple times per week. Hearing the following quote made me question the integrity of using my cell phone while I am driving: “Most people wouldn’t think of getting in a car with someone who’s been drinking, but they don’t have a problem getting into a car with someone who’s using their cell phone.”
The straight facts are that 84 percent of Americans own cell phones. A survey conducted by the AAA (Triple A) Foundation for Traffic Safety found more than one-half of U.S. drivers use a cell phone while driving. Two health studies: one published in 1997 in The New England Journal of Medicine (Vol.336, No. 7) and the other in the British Journal of Medicine BMJ (2005) both reported ‘talking on a cell phone while driving makes your risk of being in an accident four times greater than if you are not using your cell phone while driving.
The Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied (Vol. 14, No.1; 2008) recently, published research that shows cell phone conversations are particularly detrimental to driving. The study produced evidence that people who drive and use their cell phone are more likely to drift out of their lane or miss their exit than people carrying on conversations with another person in the car. Passengers appear to have a mediating effect and are more likely to take an active role in supporting the driver and discussing surrounding traffic. Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) investigated how driver inattention impacts collisions. Their results indicated that nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near crashes involve driver inattention as much as three seconds before the accident.
The topic of cell phone use came up while I was appreciating my coffee at a local establishment. An individual enlightened me as she articulated her multiple talents. Remarking on her abilities she exclaimed; “Oh, I can’t believe what I used to get away with. When I was a senior in high school I could do it all. I loved driving my beater truck, which had a stick shift, and a slipping clutch. I would drive, smoke a cigarette, and hold my coffee between my legs, all while I was talking on my cell phone. Not to mention, I was high.”
A hard-hitting fact surfaced when a study published in Human Factors (Vol. 48, No. 2) revealed that a driver talking on a cell phone is more impaired than one with a blood alcohol level exceeding 0.08. Blood Alcohol Consumption (BAC). A BAC Level of 0.08 or above is the over the legal limit for driving. Ask your local trooper what happens when he stops a driver with a BAC over 0.08. Check the Turnagain Times Trooper Report for DUI’s (Driving Under the Influence) or DWI’s (Driving While Intoxicated) issued to drivers, there are a lot. Why then, do we not enforce cell phone use restrictions?
The facts are out. Cognitive research shows the brain has a limited bandwidth capacity. A study using imaging at Carnegie Mellon University examined the brain function of an individual while performing two high level tasks: 1.) Responding to sentences read aloud to determine whether they are true or false, and 2.) Mentally rotating three-dimensional objects. The two tasks were performed separately and then at the same time. The results showed attempts to perform the tasks simultaneously slowed the response time to connect to both the temporal and parietal areas of the brain significantly more than the amount of time it took to perform the tasks separately. The results were the same whether the tasks required connections to the same part of the brain or from different parts of the brain. Simply stated, attempting to do two separate tasks simultaneously requires more time for the brain to process than if each task is completed separately. The director of the Brain Cognition and Action Lab at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, David E. Meyer, Ph.D., stated, “People who multitask take longer to get things done even when the physical and mental demands are similar. Multitasking requires switching back and forth between tasks and the outcome of the overall quality of the completed task is decreased.
As yet, no state has banned all cell phone use by drivers of every type. However, seventeen states and the District of Columbia prohibit novice drivers from using cell phones. Six states and the District of Columbia have outlawed all drivers from using hand held phones. Seven states bar text messaging while driving and nine states prohibit teens from driving and texting.
I was unaware of these proactive laws in certain states until this summer. Case in point; I had left the Veterans Hospital in San Francisco and was approaching the Presidio when my cell phone rang. I grasped the phone, pulled off the road, and answered. It was the doctor on the other end. His first words were; “Are you on your cell phone?” My immediate response was “Yes” and then I qualified; “I am off the road and not driving.” Thus, he continued his conversation with me. My point is that California is one of those six states in which hand held cell phones are now against the law.
A national effort put out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration called ‘Driver Distraction’, states; “distracted driving is a public health hazard without age barriers that is often misunderstood by not only the public but also by both state and local policy makers.” A task force has been organized to solve the problem. It may be as simple a solution as the “click it or ticket” program. It is the belief of the NHTSA that “people are unaware of the fact that using a cell phone has such a massive impact on their performance.” A new T.V. commercial on NBC states: “Someone dies every thirteen minutes from negligent driving—keep your hands on the wheel and your cell phone off.”
Keep those questions coming.
Shirley K. Durtschi is a Certified Consultant in Applied Sport Psychology (CC-AASP), with a Ph.D. and M.S. in Sport Psychology, is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and a Chemical Dependency Counselor II (CDCII) for the State of Alaska.