Harris 1

Alexander Harris
B CMU 301 F
Professor Hochberg
November 14th, 2016
Hands-free Cell Phone Safety
The National Transportation Safety Board recently released a recommendation that states
ban the use of hands-free devices while driving. Verizon Wireless acknowledges the dangers of
driving while using a handheld device. This report examines the dangers of hands-free cell phone
use while driving and explores possible solutions to the issue. We find that there is a safety issue
associated with hands-free devices and recommend that Verizon minimize this risk by supporting
public education campaigns and developing preventative technology, our analysis follows.

Problems: Cognitive Distraction, Physical Distraction

The National Safety Council estimates that talking on the phone is involved in around 25
percent of all crashes, accounting for 1.4 million crashes in 2008.1 Several recent studies have
presented evidence that suggests hands-free devices are at least as dangerous as handheld cell
phone use, if not more. This is because of two reasonsthe cognitive distraction of the
conversation and the physical distraction of operating hands-free systems. According to The
National Safety Council, inattention blindness occurs when drivers trying to maintain cell phone
conversations look at but fail to see up to 50 percent of the information in their driving
environment. While the drivers eyes are providing data about what is happening on the road, his
brain is failing to interpret this data. A Western Washington University study found that 60

http://www.fnal.gov/pub/traffic_safety/files/NSC%20White%20Paper%20-%20Distracted%20Driving%203-10.pdf

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percent of those walking with friends remembered an

FIGURE 1:
AN INVISIBLE CLOWN

obvious distraction versus 8 percent of those talking

on the phone (Figure 1).2 Multitasking has been
shown to divide attention and limit working memory
- both essential to safe driving.3 A Carnegie Mellon
University study found that listening to sentences on
cell phones affected brain activity in the parietal
lobe, an area associated with driving (Figure 2).4
These studies demonstrate the impact of cell phone

Due to inattention blindness, 92% of students

talking on the phone were unable to recall
having walked passed this clown.
Photo Source: New York Times, October 2009

conversations on ones awareness of their surroundings, which presents significant danger when
the distraction is coupled with the demands of driving a car. A University of Utah study found
that when drivers use phones, their driving skills become worse than if they were above the .08
legal blood alcohol limit.5 This impairment is a part of the driver distraction which lead to
FIGURE 2:
DECREASED BRAIN ACTIVITY

3,154 distraction related motor

vehicle deaths in 2013.6
Hands-free devices
reduce, but do not eliminate,

A Carnegie Mellon University fMRI scan shows that listening to

sentences decreased brain activity by 37% in the parietal lobe, the area
of the brain responsible for integrating information from the senses and
spatial awareness.

physical distraction. A
University of Utah and AAA
study found that voice-based

Image Source: Carnegie Mellon University, September 2009

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/what-clown-on-a-unicycle-studying-cell-phone-distraction/
http://www.apa.org/research/action/drive.aspx
4
http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2009/September/sept3_cellphonefmri.shtml
5
http://www.apa.org/research/action/drive.aspx
3

https://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cause-of-accident/cell-phone/cell-phone-statistics.html

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systems distracted drivers because they are too complex and made too many errors in
recognizing voice commands.7 Thus, drivers are forced to interact with the physical components
of the hands-free devices, such as buttons and interfaces on the dash, creating visual and manual
distractions similar to handheld cell phone use.

Possible Solutions: Public Education, Technological Fixes

While simplifying hands-free interfaces and improved voice recognition software would
likely reduce the driver distraction, eliminating the physical and cognitive distractions of handsFIGURE 3:
SEAT BELT USE SINCE 1985

free devices may require the

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

elimination of all cell phone use

behind the wheel. Public education
campaigns have been a useful
prevention tool with similar traffic
safety issues, such as seatbelts.
1985

1990

1995

2000

Observed Seat Belt Use (%)

2005

2010

100%

Seatbelt use rose from 14% to 85% between 1985 and 2010, saving
an estimated 85,000 lives, and $3.2 billion in costs to society.
Data Source: US DOT, January 2010

Utilizing a combination of public

education campaigns such as You
Could Learn A Lot From A
Dummy and policies such as

Click it or Ticket, the US DOT saw safety belt usage increase dramatically (Figure 3).8 A
similar campaign about the dangers of hands-free cell phones coupled with a government ban
could be effective. Technological innovations may also prove helpful in curbing this dangerous
habit; Drive ID is a system which automatically detects who is driving, and shuts off cell phone

http://www.mercurynews.com/2014/10/07/hands-free-devices-can-be-more-distracting-than-holding-a-phone-study-says/

http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/811232.pdf

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alerts, such as incoming calls and texts, for the driver only.9 This technology goes a step further
than Verizons Safely Go app, which requires drivers to activate the app when they are about to
drive.10 With collaboration from cell phone providers, technologies such as Drive ID could
automatically disable the drivers cell phone, eliminating all cell phone related distractions.
Hands-free cell phone use causes a physical distraction as a driver attempts to use
complicated interfaces, and a cognitive distraction as cell phone conversations take concentration
off the road, creating a level of impairment equal to drunk driving. Eliminating cell phone use
behind the wheel entirely may be the only way to ensure cognitive distraction results in no
further loss of life. A combination of public education campaigns and government policy has
been effective with similar issues, such as seatbelts, in the past. Therefor we have found that
there is a danger associated with using hands-free devices while driving, it is important that
Verizon partner with the National Safety Council to create a comprehensive public education
campaign demonstrating the dangers of hands-free devices, and work with technologies such as
Drive ID to ensure that the risk of hands-free device use by drivers is eliminated.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/04/health/distracted-driving-technology-solution/

10

http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/article/2012/09/safely-go-driving-app.html