The Last Word On Nothing

Lately, I’ve become a nag. I reprimanded my husband for fiddling with the navigation on his smartphone while he was driving. I chastised a friend who said she talked on her speakerphone on the road and another who admitted to texting while “only going 30 miles an hour.” Last weekend, I looked up a bunch of research and statistics on distracted driving and emailed the information to a few friends with the enticing preface “So I think you have all heard me get on my soapbox at some point about cell phone use while driving. I am going to get on it again…”

I’m not sure why distracted driving ticks me off so much. Maybe it’s my distaste for a device-obsessed culture in which people can’t stand to miss even one call, or annoyance at hearing too many loud cell phone conversations in public places. But I think what bugs me is that almost everyone does it, even though most people know on some level that it’s not okay. It’s become a normal, accepted part of coping with our busy lives.

I used to talk on my phone in the car. At some point, I switched to using the speakerphone, thinking that was a safer option. Then I read the New York Times’ “Driven to Distraction” series and stopped doing that too. (I can truthfully report that I’ve never texted while driving because I own a dinosaur-era flip phone, and typing “omg” takes approximately 32 minutes.)

According to two studies, using a cell phone in the car increases the risk of an accident by about four times, and having the conversation hands-free doesn’t make much of a difference. In driving simulations, people on cell phones had slower reaction times, were worse at noticing traffic signals, and got into more collisions. Researchers estimate that from 2002 to 2007, more than 16,000 additional people were killed in distracted driving accidents as a result of the increase in texting.

Even in situations where one might expect people to use more caution, they don’t. In a 2013 study, researchers surveyed 539 people about their cell phone use when driving with or without kids in the car. The participants did report talking on their phones less when children were present. But they were just as or more likely to read and send text messages or emails or to check websites such as Google and Facebook. (These habits are dangerous too: A 2013 report suggests that “visual-manual subtasks” such as looking at, reaching for, or touching a phone roughly triple collision risk.)

Distraction isn’t limited to drivers. In a study published last year, a research team observed 1,360 cyclists in The Hague, Netherlands at six intersections where the bicyclist had to yield to cars. About a quarter of the cyclists were engaged in another task such as using a cell phone, listening to music, talking to a fellow cyclist, or smoking, and they were more likely to make unsafe maneuvers or force someone else to avoid them. One cyclist using a phone crashed into a car.

Distracted driving has become such a common safety hazard that doctors are now encouraged to talk about the issue with their patients. One physician tries to convince skeptics by asking whether the patient would feel comfortable having a surgeon remove their appendix while talking on the phone (“hands free, of course”). But as this commentary points out, doctors themselves often use their phones in the car.

As a journalist, I’ve encountered many busy sources who suggest holding a phone interview while they’re driving — the perfect window when they’re free of meetings and other obligations. I agreed because I wanted to meet my deadlines. But I don’t think I’m going to do that anymore. Having someone explain a complicated physics concept while navigating city streets or roaring down the freeway at 65 miles an hour just doesn’t seem like a good idea.

An anecdote from the New York Times series shows just how tempting cell phones can be. According to one article, David Teater’s son was killed in 2004 by a distracted driver, but Teater still could not keep himself from using his phone in the car. Finally, he stowed it in the trunk. Sounds like a great solution.

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