There are not many good things to say about talking on your cell phone while driving. While this may be convenient for conducting business or catching up with a friend, the dangerous effects of this practice outweigh the benefits. In fact, some states ban the use of a handheld cell phone while operating a motor vehicle. Consider these risks of talking and driving.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) analyzed more than 120 studies related to cell phone use while driving. It found that cell phone use while driving was usually linked to drivers going faster and drifting out of their lanes more often than those not using a phone.
Unexpected things happen to drivers all the time. Someone swerves into your lane, a child runs out in front of you, your tire suddenly blows out—reacting to these in the safest manner requires you to have both hands on the steering wheel and both eyes on the road. If you are holding a phone in one hand, you will not be as prepared to respond to split-second hazards.
Even if you use a hands-free device like a speakerphone or headset, talking on the phone requires concentration. “The available research indicates that whether it is a hands-free or hand-held cell phone, the cognitive distraction is significant enough to degrade a driver’s performance,” notes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “This can cause a driver to miss key visual and audio cues needed to avoid a crash.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) points to a study by Carnegie Mellon University as it notes this finding: “Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent.”
Think driving while talking on the phone is no worse than talking to someone who is in the car? Consider this observation from the DOT: “A significant difference between the two is the fact that a passenger can monitor the driving situation along with the driver and pause for, or alert the driver to, potential hazards, whereas a person on the other end of the phone line is unaware of the roadway situation.”
The National Safety Council (NSC) estimates that 28 percent of motor vehicle crashes are linked to people who were using their cell phone to talk or send text messages while driving.
