Could Using Your Phone On The Road Make You Safer?
That's what a report by the University of Kansas says, at least...
Not that we want to start a forum fight or anything, but we thought we owed it to you to share a new piece of research that suggests - and we quote - "Drivers engaging in a secondary task may pay more attention to the road".
By 'secondary task', they mean making a phone call (among other things). Apparently the University put 45 people into a driving simulator and tested their attentiveness by introducing various obstacles.
"Results from the study indicate that drivers who had to perform a concurrent task in the latter portion of the trip were more likely to stay in their lane and were less likely to commit road infractions, compared with drivers who had either a continuous or no additional task," says the report.
"These findings suggest that as driving becomes monotonous and drivers' minds drift from the road, strategically introducing an additional task, such as a talking on the phone or listening to the radio, might improve driver attention and stability," continues the report, published yesterday.
Although we suggest that you don't try that one on the angry police officer who's just pulled you over for talking on your mobile...
You can find out more by downloading the full report here. As long as you're not reading PH on your mobile while driving somewhere up the A1, that is...
I used to travel a lot in the evenings for work, along with using breaks, cold air and coffee to keep alert after a few hours of driving sometimes i'd call a mate for a chat. The break in the monotony definately increased my alertness.
Not something i do any more as i find using handfree kits make trying hear and be heard too frustrating, but it seemed to help me on a motorway journey.
Regardless of this report, any conversation is distracting, whether it be the person next to you, the kids messing about int he back, or the conversation you have just had with the Mrs about having to go see her parents again which ended in an argument and your in a bad mood.
However, unless we all start mediatating before we drive i doubt we can cancel all the distractions out.
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Regardless of this report, any conversation is distracting, whether it be the person next to you, the kids messing about int he back, or the conversation you have just had with the Mrs about having to go see her parents again which ended in an argument and your in a bad mood.
However, unless we all start mediatating before we drive i doubt we can cancel all the distractions out.
The number of very large trucks you see where the driver is trying to man handle them round a round-about one handed, while setting up a date with a prozzie on the phone pressed against his ear, is really rather worrying.
However I can't see that the article refers to people using a hand held or hands free phone. Hands free means you can keep your brain alert but keep your hands on the wheel, which is not the case with hand held.
I suspect that having a conversation with a passenger would be better, though, as not only is it 'hands free' but also if an 'incident' comes up which requires the drivers full concentration then a passenger is more likely to leave a break in conversation (as they see the hazard too) vs. a person on the other end of a phone who can continue to be distracting when the driver's trying to concentrate.
However, there is a thought that talking with a passenger is safer than driving alone (or on the phone). A passenger will see dangers coming and moderate their voice, alerting you to hazards and will see things you don't.
I always find the best way to avoid tiredness on Motorways is to go faster, but that's just me.
- This refers to 'monotonous driving' - long-distance on trunk roads/M-ways. Not the typical commute/pop-out that comprises the majority of UK car journeys.
- This refers to 'a secondary focus of attention, such as the radio or a phone-call'.
...so you have to wonder how much of a benefit the phone-call actually was, vs having the radio on...
Or, essentially, having the radio on whilst on a long journey helps. No sh't sherlock!
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