Many states have made it illegal to use a hand-held cell phone while driving. Experts believed the danger was in driving with one hand and manipulating the cell phone with the other. That has spurred the popularity of hands-free cell phone technology, most notably enabled by Bluetooth connectivity. Unfortunately, further research is showing that hands-free phone use is no safer than hand-held talking. The hands are NOT the problem. It’s the brain!

“It’s not that your hands aren’t on the wheel,” said Dr. David Strayer, Director of the Applied Cognition Laboratory at the University of Utah and a leading researcher on cell phone safety. “It’s that your mind is not on the road.”

A recent article in the New York Times reported that Dr. Strayer’s research has convinced the National Safety Council, the nonprofit advocacy group that has pushed for seatbelt laws and drunk driving awareness, to call for a complete ban on using cell phones while driving.

The New York Times article pointed out, “Laboratory experiments using simulators, real-world road studies and accident statistics all tell the same story – drivers talking on a cell phone are four times as likely to have an accident as drivers who are not. That’s the same level of risk posed by a driver who is legally drunk.”

Researchers believe that talking on the phone requires significant brain resources, enough to hinder the ability to process all of the information required to safely operate a motor vehicle. For example, eye-tracking studies have shown that safe drivers continually look side-to-side, scanning ahead as they are driving. When they tracked the eye movement of drivers using cell phones, they found the cell phone users tended to stare straight ahead.

Studies using a driving simulator and volunteers wired so researchers could see how their brains were processing information have shown that cell phone conversations are far more distracting than other speaking (chatting with a passenger) or listening activities (music or talking book) while driving.

The Journal of Experimental Psychology published a report in their December 2008 issue presenting the findings of a comparison between drivers conversing with a passenger in the car and drivers talking hands-free on a cell phone. The drivers were instructed to drive several miles until they encountered the exit for a rest stop that they were supposed to take. Nearly every driver and passenger found the exit and entered the rest stop. Half of those drivers using their hands-free cell phone system missed the exit.

Dr. Strayer’s interpretation? “The paradox is that if the friend is sitting next to you, you drive safer. When you talk to that person on a cell phone, you’re much more likely to be involved in an accident.”

Tell that to the “wired generation” who virtually live on their cell phones, say critics who believe it’s too late to change people’s habits. In fact, the distractions of car technology are greater with every new gadget. Bluetooth enables cell phone chatter. Voice recognition gives you command over virtually every user-controlled system in the cabin. Central control joysticks encourage you to surf the car’s network while attempting to operate the vehicle. Still, cell phones pose the most dangerous distraction of all. Unfortunately, cell phones and driving seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly. We’re realizing the peanut butter may be tainted.

There is room for common sense on this issue. Fact: Young people are the most enthusiastic and persistent cell phone users. Fact: Young people are inexperienced drivers who are just developing the mind/hand/eye coordination needed for driving competency. Conclusion: Young drivers need to focus all of their brainpower on processing the information related to operating the motor vehicle safely. Advice: Parents should ban cell phone use by minors while they are driving.