Washington is the most recent state to ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving, but does that reduce the risk of auto accidents? In our opinion, hands-free mobile phones do not guarantee safety. The driver is still concentrating on the phone conversation when 100% of his/her attention should be on driving.
The National Safety Council released a “white paper” last March titled “Understanding the distracted brain: Why driving using hands-free cell phones is risky behavior.”The report states a number of distractions that contribute to driving impairments. Besides slower response and reaction time and problems staying in lanes, a major factor is “inattention blindness," where cell phone users look but fail to see up to 50% of the information in their driving environment. “The conversation is drawing attention away from driving and redirecting it towards the virtual reality of the conversation.” The distraction isn’t the phone. As we listen, our minds are processing information and formulating a response. If a conversation gets intense – we get angry or hear devastating news – driving becomes even more dangerous.
It is a known fact that handling a cell phone while driving is dangerous; we don’t need laws to tell us this. Although some states have banned hand-held cell phones, they still allow drivers to use hands-free phones. Unfortunately, these devices can still greatly affect one’s “perception distance” – the time it takes for your eyes to see something and for your brain to react to that something. Why is drunk driving dangerous? Why is it so bad to text and drive? Why are both hand-held and hands-free phone devices a problem? Perception distance is hindered. When you make or receive a call hands-free, although your eyes are seeing what is on the road ahead, you are still hearing or saying different information. Sadly, your brain will usually react to what’s being heard or said over what is being seen. For example, you physically see the child running across the street, but your brain doesn’t mentally react “I must stop,” thus an accident occurs. 100% of your attention wasn’t on the road and you suffered from “inattention blindness.”
In hind-sight, the laws don’t actually discourage cell phone use while driving, but divert it in a different direction by allowing hands-free devices. Hundreds of dollars are spent on exorbitantly priced headsets and wireless earphones that along with speakerphone, feed this false confidence. Then, drivers and consumers tell you how their earphones maintain their ability to drive. Critical audible clues on the road, such as emergency sirens, can no longer be heard, and their ability to drive is apparently unaffected. Some say that these laws may be making drivers less safe, and I tend to agree with them.
The problem with distracted drivers is not handling the phone so much as it is the lack of mental concentration. Terms including “inattention blindness” and “perception distance” are important to understand because of how greatly they relate to safe driving. Consumers gain a fictitious/pseudo/false assurance of safety from having headsets and earpieces, but even with their eyes on the road, their hearing is impaired. Nothing can be more important than your own life and the lives of others. Road safety can only be achieved by a driver’s undivided attention on their vehicle and their surroundings.Keep your mind where it should be, because “hands-free" does not equal "distraction-free!”
Mark Bello has thirty-three years experience as a trial lawyer and twelve years as an underwriter and situational analyst in the lawsuit fundingindustry. He is the owner and founder of Lawsuit Financial Corporationwhich helps provide cash flow solutions and consulting when necessities of life funding is needed during litigation. Bello is a Justice Pac member of the American Association for Justice, Sustaining and Justice Pac member of the Michigan Association for Justice, Business Associate of the Florida, Tennessee, and Colorado Associations for Justice, a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan and the Injury Board.
