Driving Distractions: An Investigation of the Safety Implications of Using Cellular Telephones While

1
Driving Distractions An Investigation of the
Safety Implications of Using Cellular Telephones
While Operating a Motor Vehicle

• Reena Shah- Johns Hopkins University
• Anika Thomas- Morgan State University
• Lisa Wilson- UMBC

2
As of July 25, 2001 there are currently
119,073,285 Wireless Subscribers in the US.
3
Estimated Number of Cellular Telephone
Subscribers For The Period January 1985 to
December 2000
4
Its a matter of dollars and sense !
Today, the average monthly subscriber bill is
half of what it was in 1987, making it far more
affordable for ANYONE to own a cell phone
5
Average Monthly Subscriber Bill For The Period
December 1987 to December 2000
6
People are using their Cell Phones to Keep in
Touch with Loved Ones
61 percent of calls made by subscribers are of a
personal nature

7

• Business accounts for only 21 percent of all
  calls made

8

• Many cell phone owners purchased their phones
  solely for the SAFETY benefits that having a
  ready means of Communication provides

9
Safety Benefits include

• Being able to call for help if vehicle is
  disabled
  
• Calling for help in a Medical Emergency
• Alerting authorities of hazardous road conditions
  
  
• Obtaining directions when lost
• Alerting authorities of crimes in progress

10
Reasons for Concern

• Every year 91 million people use their cell
  phones while driving

11
Of these, 18 million drivers use their phones on
each trip
12

• The NHTSA estimates that at any given moment,
  there are half a million drivers who are talking
  on hand-held cellular phones

13
What Preliminary Studies have Revealed

• Talking on a cell phone can impair ability to
  adjust speed due to changes in overall traffic
  speed
  
• Complex conversation leads to increased reaction
  time
  
• Risk of having an accident increases by as much
  as four times when talking on a cell phone

14
HOWEVER...

• Studies have not been widespread enough to
  provide evidence that proves without a doubt that
  using a cell phone increases ones risk of being
  in an accident...

15

• Evidence does indicate that talking a cell phone
  while driving may impair driving ability

16
BUT

• One thing everyone can agree on
• Talking on a cellular phone while driving vehicle
  can't make you a better driver!

17
Improving Data Collection
This is the first step in determining whether
using Cell Phones while driving presents a hazard
to Marylands drivers
18
Police Crash Reports
should include information on whether a Cell
Phone played a role in the accident
19
(No Transcript)
20

• Statistical Data about Cell Phone Involvement in
  accidents can be used in creating Legislature
  that ensures safe driving conditions for all

21
Possible Alternatives which can be Implemented to
Lower the Risk of a Vehicular Accident while
Talking on a Cell Phone

• Total ban on cellular telephone use in motor
  vehicles
  
• Technology Evaluation and Determination of Safer
  Alternatives for cell phone use in motor
  vehicles
  
• Enforcement of Existing Reckless Driving/ Driver
  Inattention Laws and imposing Harsher
  Penalties
  
• Advocating Consumer Education to increase public
  awareness
  
• Ban or limit the use of cellular phones for young
  drivers who are already have a higher accident
  risk

22
1. Total Ban

• According to the New England Journal of Medicine,
  motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of
  death in North America
  
• They account for a fatality every 10 minutes
• The study found that error on the part of drivers
  contributes to over 90 percent of occurrences of
  accidents
  
• Driver error is usually a result of driver
  distraction

23
This is the only foolproof solution to eliminate
cellular phones as a distraction to drivers.

• A cellular telephone can impair many aspects of
  driving performance, but most importantly, a
  drivers attention to the road
  
• Reaction time is slowed
• When caught in a conversation, a drivers
  situational awareness and judgement are impeded
  
• Flexibility and the ability to maneuver a turn,
  take an evasive action, or avoid a driver who has
  cut into your lane is reduced

24
Talking on a cell phone versus other distractions

• The difference lies in that the drivers reaction
  time is impeded when talking on the phone and
  situational awareness is diverted
  
• Drivers react significantly slower to an
  unexpected event during a phone conversation and
  are unaware of traffic movements around them
  
• Passengers in the car often alert drivers to
  dangerous situations, in sharp contrast to a
  person at the other end of the cellular phone who
  may not even be aware that the caller is driving
  and therefore will not react to a change in
  driving conditions

25
The emotional or critical nature of a
conversation is especially distracting to a
driver. They can become lost in thought and may
drift off the road. It is clear that talking o
n the phone while driving drags a driver away
from the immediate surroundings
26
2. Technology Evaluation and Determination of
Safer Alternatives for Cell Phone Use in Motor
Vehicles

• With the evolution of small, hand-held cellular
  telephones, there has been increasing concern
  regarding the ability of a driver to operate a
  vehicle safely with one hand, while holding and
  manipulating the phone with the other
• Wireless companies have come up with many
  innovative solutions to minimize the effects of
  driving and talking on a cell phone.

27
Hands-Free Technology

• ATT Wireless is pressing cell phone makers to
  include "ear buds," receivers that fit into the
  ear and dangle a microphone, with every phone
  they sell.
• Verizon Wireless is requiring phone manufacturers
  to include built-in speakerphones and
  voice-activated dialing by 2002

28

• Sprint PCS already offers Voice Command, which
  lets callers recite the number they want to reach
  
  
• Advocating new hands-free technology as a safer
  alternative to hands held phones would minimize
  driver distraction caused by manipulating a cell
  phone

29
3. Enforcing Existing Laws and Increasing
Penalties to Ensure Safer Driving Habits

• Maryland has laws about reckless and negligent
  driving
  
• Punishment is a notoriously poor motivator unless
  it is swift, reasonably severe, and very certain
  
• Enforcement of negligent and reckless driving
  does not currently fulfill any of these three
  criteria

30
4. Consumer Education

• There is widespread agreement that a public
  education campaign should be undertaken which
  addresses the implications of driving while
  talking on a cellular phone
• The distraction potential of cellular phones may
  be minimized if users are aware of the hazards
  and use cellular technology wisely

31
Employers Should Play an Important Role in
Education

• Workers are more likely to die from traffic
  accidents than any other job hazard
  
• Business calls are more likely to distract
  drivers than simple conversations
  
• Employers who allow their employees to use their
  cellular phones while driving may be held liable
  for a crash

32
More Than Consumer Education is Necessary
Past experiences with drunk driving and seat
belts have shown that education alone does not
substantially alter a drivers behavior
33
5. Young Drivers

• Young drivers are especially vulnerable to being
  in a vehicular accident
  
• Distractions can be dangerous for all drivers.
  They are an outright hazard for young drivers
  
• Young drivers are not motivated to avoid risks
  and lack the experience to effective gauge risky
  driver behavior
  
• Maryland has been a leader in enacting
  legislation to protect its young drivers
  

34

• Legislation should be considered to ban or limit
  the use of cell phones in moving vehicles
  operated by young drivers