NEWS A study from an Australian university has concluded that using a mobile phone - with or without a hands-free kit - increases a driver's risk of crashing.
The report, by researchers from the George Institute for International Health at the University of Sydney and published in the British Medical Journal, examined 456 drivers from the city of Perth in western Australia and discovered that phone use has a dramatic effect on the likelihood of a driver having a crash that requires hospital treatment.
The study found that those who used a mobile while on the road were four times as likely to end up in hospital as a result of a crash than drivers who didn't use their mobiles.
However, the research also discovered that "there is no safety advantage associated with switching to the types of hands-free devices that are commonly in use".
Some types of hands-free kits may be distracting, and therefore more likely to cause crashes than others, the study suggests. It reads: "For example, searching for an earpiece to answer an incoming call may be more distracting than answering a phone mounted in a hands-free kit."
The advent of cars equipped with short-range technologies such as Bluetooth will not make using a mobile any safer, according to the research.
"More and more new vehicles are being equipped with Bluetooth technology, facilitating voice activation and therefore totally hands-free phone use.
"Though this may lead to few handheld phones used while driving in the future, our research indicates that this may not remove the risk. Importantly, if this new technology actually increases mobile phone use in cars it could contribute to even more crashes," the report concludes.
Comments
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1. anonymous
Have you ever seen Aussies drive they are useless when it comes to being in traffic in town centres. So of course another distraction to them would cause them to crash.
2. Professor Garry E Hunt
This research work has very limited value in isolation. There are many dangers in cars; turning on the radio and changing channels, people talking and causing a distraction, sneezing and being given a sweet to eat, where the driver could swallow it and loose control and concentration. If researchers which to focus their attention on the major danger it is the cigarette lighter and the lighted cigarette.
While we need to make sure our cars are safe and the drivers are are in full control, it is a pity we are so wasteful with such isolated research of dubious value.
3. donna mcnicholas
The world is a far from a free place, can they please just leave us alone and concentrate on more important things... terrorism for example!
4. Jonathan Gwyer
Oh, please, Donna. How many people are killed each year by terrorists? How many are killed in car crashes?
5. Mike Poole
Terrorism kills innocent people and so can making a call in your car. Seems like a good reason to ban them both.
6. J Barry Mckinnon
Are we not being a little obsessive about in car use of phones? Surely, fiddling with radios/cd's/in car navigation devices and smoking/ eating/ drinking/map reading all contribute to momentary loss of concentration on the road and traffic and lead to accidents? This list does not include the obviously daft activities that one sees---putting on makeup, reading newspapers etc.
7. paul britton
Why doesn't the police fine smokers in cars? They have to pick up a cigarette from their pack, light it and smoke for longer than most calls last.
I agree that this is a waste of time research
8. Nick Ford
Why do so many intelligent people insist on using loose when they mean lose.
loose= something is moving around
lose= something is lost
losing= about to lose control.
loose= adjective
lose= verb
9. Stuart Horner
Driving a car is risky period. Unfortunately all of us have occasions to scratch our noses, sneeeze, rub our eyes - all these actions are potentially dangerous. What about smokers - has there been any studies carried out on people smoking in cars - surely this habit is even more distracting than using a hands free mobile. Maybe having a conversation with passengers should also be banned since this is also a serious distraction. We should all be made to drive cars with automatic gearboxes so we don't have to take our hands of the wheel. Head up displays should be introduced so that our eyes don't leave the road. Remove all audio entertainment systems and sat nav devices. Even better - ban driving altogether - so we can all stay at home - safe and sound.
10. anonymous
But do we care? - we want to talk in our cars and will seek a way of doing so. Reports like this are good when let us know that we should heighten our sense of caution when driving and talking on the phone but are meat and drink to the 'ban it all' brigade who think we should be cocooned in polystyrene to save us from harm. I would prefer to see a purpose to the report rather than simple statistics. Perhaps some pragmatic recommendations that can be employed to offset the risk more?
11. anonymous
as someone who organises several telconferences every day of the week this comes as no surprise. Some research on the "other end" of the use of mobile phones while people are travelling and the impact on effectiveness and efficiency of thier colleagues trying to conduct business (as against social) activities might be helpful.
Personally I have had too many close calls and avoid using my hands free phone for anything that distracts me while driving. If I have to use the phone while travelling I take the train!
12. John H Woods
Wow, being distracted increases your chances of having an accident!
Unfortunately, mobile phone use is singled out, because there is no means of precisely timing interaction with passengers, foodstuffs, cigarettes, drinks, attractive people outside the vehicle, or the radio.
Let's wait for proper scientific tests (in simulators, perhaps) before we rush to any conclusions. After all, the major times I have been distracted during a call where when I was making a call because I was *already* distracted --- late for a meeting or under other stress.
Can anyone remember how stressful it was to be stuck in traffic with no means of contacting the people one was supposed to be meeting? I bet that caused a few rear-enders. And, on that subject, it appears there was no attempt to break down the 'mobile caused' accidents into classes of severity. Looks like tabloid science at the moment guys. Interesting work, but it needs quite a bit more before anyone should be running off at the mouth.
13. Bryan Scott
Apart from smoking what about Sat Nav which requires visual diversion as a minimum distraction not to mention chatty passengers and related phenomina that all have the potential to distract a driver. Hand held mobiles clearly represent a risk at the same levels as smoking i.e. one hand is otherwise occupied but hands free are very little different from listening to a radio. As with all these matters where do you draw the line ?
14. Tony Sygrove
Two comments:
One; there are other things more distracting to drivers than handsfree mobiles, one is children in the car, and the other has to be talking to your passengers. I notice quite often when travelling as a passenger how distracted the driver can get taking their eyes off the road for extended periods of time, using their hands to emphasis a point surely these are more distracting but there is never any mention of them. It is too easy to blame technology which if applied correctly is probably the safest means of communication when driving (Prove me wrong!!).
Second comment is why do we not insist that car manufacturers have the technology installed into every car in the centre of the steering wheel. We often as drivers have to glance down to check our speed and other instruments on the dash-board so why not our mobile phone, with blue-tooth ear piece. It should also be mandatory that if you wish to wear a ear piece it should be fitted before you drive the vehicle.
Makes sense to me, but there again I am not a stupid beaurocrat.
15. anonymous too
How is that any different from talking to a passenger (or yelling at the kids on the back seat), smoking a fag, listening to the news on the radio, picking your nose or thinking about what's for dinner tonight? They are all distractions, which at the wrong time will cause an accident.
16. Alex
3,221 people died in British road accidents in 2004.
In my book, that's important enough to warrant doing something about it...
17. Jon
The example they have used indicates the poor quality of this study; the sort of person who is "searching for an earpiece" is as likely to be eating a piece of toast or reading a map/newspaper/novel. There are probably more crashes involving people with phones because there are more people with phones. I still don't hear any outcry to ban truckers using handset radios which require one hand off the wheel to transmit...
18. anonymous
Can we legislate away all distraction in driving cars - Like Children in the back seat, Annoying Radio DJ's, Flashing blue lights in the rear view mirror....
19. John H Woods
Alex quotes a large number of people dying in car accidents and says we should do something about it.
Lets think clearly:
IF this research shows that hands-free is just as bad as handset use
AND
IF there has not been a significant drop in RTA fatalities since the introduction of the UK ban on handsets
THEN
EITHER: The ban on handsets is ineffective in altering people's behaviour, and a ban on hands-free will be the same
OR: The ban on handsets is ineffective because, although people now use hands-free, other sources of distraction
cause RTA fatalities at a rate which swamps that caused by mobile use.
... John
20. Tony T
Its about as distratcing as having to check your speed every 50 yards to avoid being mugged by speed cameras.
Anyway who uses hands free. On my 8 mile 20 minute journey home I will regularly encounter 2 or more drivers on the phone and even the odd pedestrian strolling out in front of me chatting away.
Pedestrians, Drivers stop walking and driving when your on the phone. It's the only answer.
21. Dee Ryever
Don't be stupid.
There is no distraction.
I'm happily driving right now using my knees, smoking a ciggie with my left hand and typing this with my right.
All this at the same time and I'm nice and safe and soun
22. musicFan
Perhaps we should ban blonde girls in short skirts from walking down the street cause that has to be the biggest distraction a guy comes accross whilst driving!
23. Nick Cole
Another misrepresentation and false conclusion from dubious statistics.
It really means that of those 400 or so who had crashes 80% were using a phone at the time.
In reality it means that if an accident is going to occur (for whatever reason) your ability to take avoiding action is more reduced if using a phone than if you weren't.
However the statistics should be measured in incidents per vehicle mile taken across the whole population. That will give a truer incidence and allows for the fact that the vast majority of the time phones, cigarettes, chocolate bars, CDs, and so on can be handled in complete safety.
A phone or any other distracting device can be used safely if the operator places a priority on dealing with driving and road related events rather than the phone.
And there are plenty of other distractions in cars that are an equal cause of accidents, such as tantrum throwing kids, back seat drivers. If people drove taking into account what they were doing and the environment in which they were doing it accidents would be reduced significantly.
The well meaning safety campaigners always fail to represent their views properly and in a manner which accords with everybody's actual experiences. The accident rate is nowhere near as bleak as they portray.
24. Simon Allen
The reason that this subjects gets studied by universoties and the rest is beacause:
1) It is new. We have been eating and changing the radio/tape/cd in the car for years.
2) It can be proved. Whilst you can bluff that you were not changing the Eminem CD or looking for that last M&M in the side pocket - there is an electronic record that you were on the phone. Case proven and phones are bad.
25. Nick Clark
The sifference between talking on the phone and talking to a passenger is that the passenger is aware of the same surroundings as you and can shut up while the person on the other end of the phone keeps on yakking while you try to avoid the accident happening.
26. Kev Wheeler
Has there been a study on other activities in cars that require your attention to be diverted from the road?
This would include smoking, looking for that packet of polos in the armrest, changing a CD, using a satnav, or even talking to your other passengers?
Without some kind of perspective, we could be sent another knee-jerk piece of legislation.
27. Ian Clark
By the same token airline pilots should not talk to air traffic control when flying because of the increased risk of crashing! Was this research conducted with public funding? Give the world of responsible people a break!
28. anonymous
Most people are complaining about turning over the radio or lighting a cigaret. I have to agree with the cigaret but how many times do you see some one trying to change a cd while pulling out of a junction? The difference between radio and phones is the length of time taken changing a cd is usually done when it is safer ( I will not use the word safe) to do so, although people will take a phone call at any time and that call can last quite a considerable time especially when traveling thorough a city.
29. Roger Brown
All of this slightly misses the point. If someone wishes to risk their own life by using a phone whilst driving that is up to them - Anyone else involved in the accident has no choice.
This applies particularly to pedestrians and cyclists/motorcyclists who do not have a steel box and airbags to protect them.
Too often people make an assessment of risk based on their own point of view, ignoring the risk their actions prevent to others (volvo driver syndrome!).
I am not in favour of nanny states over regulating for the sake of it, however I am sure we all see examples on a regular basis where drivers fail to signal, accellerate/decelerate erratically or fail to observe a developing hazard in adequate time when they are using a mobile phone.
30. Chris Nixon
Ridiculous. Speaking to a passenger (e.g. one's spouse) sitting beside you is no different to using a BT earpiece and as long as it's worn before setting out, there is no way using one is as dangerous as those planks with mobiles glued to their ears with one hand, which I absolutely agree is unacceptable.
I get so angry when I read these stories; yes I can see that using the older, wired hands-free sets is pretty dangerous but even those ended up with single-button call answering and allowed you to dial using the phone's voice call features. Now you can do all this with no dangling wires, we can all be responsible drivers.
I refuse to accept that conducting a conversation with a passenger is any less risky, so will this be outlawed at some future point too??
31. Owen
So one handed driving is just as safe as two?
I'll have a coke whilst I'm on the hands free then...
32. JD
Are you all BONEHEADS?! If you wish to risk your own selfish lives that is fine by me. But the road you tear round as if it was your own personal playground is also used by OTHER PEOPLE.
Pedestrians and cyclists aside (who are all frequently mown down by selfish people just like you who feel too important ‘not to take that call’), children have to cross roads. Sometimes they even play in roads – foolish though it might be. Animals also have to cross roads –people’s pets and the rapidly diminishing British wildlife (remember them? – those non-humanoid things you knock down on your way to Waitrose whilst chatting about little Jimmy’s toilet-training on your mobile).
Only the other day I had just finished walking across a zebra crossing when a car driver swung erratically around a roundabout at high speed, practically scrapping his hubcaps on the kerb, before flooring off down the road. The driver was of course on his mobile. A few seconds earlier and I would probably have been roadkill too. But you wouldn’t care about that would you?
33. Roy Judd
It's a fact! Everything is dangerous! Rock the cradle... more cotton wool padding anyone? Yawn...
34. Les Shaw
As a private car hire driver, I use bluetooth all the time - it's great - more convenient and definitely less cumbersome that hand-held. It allows me to keep both hands free (even though my car is automatic, hence no gear-changing) and I can move my head freely - unlike all those who are STILL illegal by using hand-held phones. So, sorry, but I disagree with this report. Try it again in this country - I think you'll find the results dramatically different.
35. anonymous
Surely everyone is missing a central point in this report?
The only danger suggested is from MISUSING bluetooth technology.
The additional risk factor comes from people looking for their headset when the 'phone is ringing. If they used the equipment properly by putting the earpiece in before they set off, they could then answer the 'phone by simply putting their hand to their ear.
36. Mouhamad A. Naboulsi
THIS IS VOODOO SCIENCE
We have our own research that proves that hand free is safer then hand held. Below is the summary of our findings:
Drivers using hand held can not operate:
1 turn signals
2 horns
3 high beam light
4 wiper, or to change wiper to appropriate setting
5 Drivers using hand held tend to steer poorly, Lane keeping as well as lane changing
6 Drivers using hand held tend to lean to one side or another and this obstruct the correct viewing of the side and rear traffic
7 Drivers using handheld will physically increase their blind spot by introducing their hand/phone as an obstruction to the side they are holding the phone to.
8 Drivers that tend to gesture while talking tend to release their grip on the steering wheel and simply rest it on top of the steering or in the top opening.
Hand Free is in no way a full solution to the problem. Receiving a call in an inopportune time is an annoyance-that leads to distraction, and an example of how a hand free device does not protect the driver, even when they are not talking or answering the phone. In the case of our Intellectual Property, incoming calls are suppressed if a driver is facing conditions that are outside their capabilities.
37. George Dundon
Similar finding came from the US, they both drive automatic cars. Hands free is a totally different issue with manual gearbox.
38. anonymous
Driving like a dickhead causes accidents, not mobile phones, speed, nagging wives, CD's, smoking etc.
39. Bryan Mills
So can an argument with your passenger, troublesom children in the back or anything else which you let distract you - i.e. it's up to you. Please leave some responsibility to grown-ups!