A new study came out on July 1 that shows that driving with a cell phone is as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.
Using a driving simulator under four different conditions: with no distractions, using a handheld cell phone, talking on a hands-free cell phone, and while intoxicated to the 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level, 40 participants followed a simulated pace car that braked intermittently.
Researchers found that the drivers on cell phones drove more slowly, braked more slowly and were more likely to crash. In fact, the three participants who collided into the pace car were chatting away. None of the drunken drivers crashed.
Being a personal injury attorney, I wasn’t surprised by this. Probably 3/4th of the accident cases I’m handling at any given time involve alcohol, cell phones, or both. For some reason talking on the cell phone seems to be more distracting to a driver than talking with a passenger or listening to the radio. There seems to be something particularly dangerous about a disembodied conversation that makes people forget their surroundings.
A few state legislatures are attempting to address this problem by limiting cell phone use by drivers. The most common approach is to ban hand held phones. Other approaches outlaw phones for certain drivers – bus drivers, minors, etc.
I could get behind a cellular ban on minor drivers or chauffeurs, but I’m not sure how much good banning hand-helds accomplishes. Drivers are still having a disembodied conversation. Perhaps the hope is that they’ll at least have two hands on the wheel.
I’m sure that lawmakers were considering the problem of enforcing a stricter cell ban: “No officer I wasn’t on the phone. I just talk to myself a lot.”
But the real problem for legislatures is this: cell phones might be comparably dangerous to driving under the influence, but the public will always be more tolerant of this risk because of the utility of a cell phone.
No useful thing is accomplished by downing a six-pack and then jumping behind the wheel. But a phone in the car can be a very important safety device – and not just for ourselves. I’ve probably made a half-dozen 911 calls from my car in the last five years – I witnessed four or five accidents and a store robbery. I also got help for my family and I once when we broke down on a busy street. I wouldn’t think of my wife going out without one.
Some people would ban cell phone use in public places too. That’s simply ridiculous. If all the prohibitionists got their way, where would we use cell phones? Not at a restaurant, not in a car – I guess we’d just go back to land lines exclusively.
Not likely. Even people that have been slow to embrace other types of technology like the Internet, have cell phones. Being able to reach anybody anytime from anywhere is incredibly powerful. People aren’t going to give that up.
This is a perfect example of what typically happens with new technology. The new tech solves old problems, but makes new problems. Throughout history Luddites have attempted to use this phenomenon to argue for relinquishment. They haven’t had much success in this because usually the old problem was much worse than the new problems. Two-steps-forward, one-step-back isn’t perfect, but you’re still a step ahead.
Anyway, new problems can be addressed by technology too. With this “driving while cellular” problem, the day is fast approaching when autodrive technology can help. Perhaps when autodrive is mature we can require cars to be in autodrive mode before the driver can use a cell phone.