KUNR: Cell Phones (2009-06-17)

Dr. Rebecca Jankovich, PhD can be reached at 322-1839

Cell phones are a fact of life; 84% of Americans own cell phones. Not only do we talk on the go, we text on the go; text messages are being used 10 times more now than they were 3 years ago. A lot of us multi task with our cell phones; we talk and drive, walk and talk. And now, many are texting while driving, walking, exercising. We think our brains can do both: pay attention to the automatic task of driving or walking, while talking. But our brains really aren't that good at multi tasking.
The risk of being in a car accident increases fourfold if you're talking on your cell phone while driving. The Human Factors and Ergonomic Society estimates there are 2600 deaths and 330,000 injuries each year as a result of accidents that are caused by drivers talking on their cell phones. There's research suggesting driver impairment is greater when talking on a cell phone than when driving with a .08 blood alcohol level. And it doesn't matter if you're holding the phone to your ear or using a wireless ear device. Talking while driving, listening to the radio, talking to a passenger, all decrease your attention to driving. A side note is that talking with a passenger can actually decrease your risk of accident even while it decreases your driving attention; that's because the passenger tends to team with the driver to watch for risks and calls the driver's attention to hazards so you've actually got two people paying attention to hazards rather than just one.
The research is darn clear. They've monitored brains of people driving to see how much attention is diverted from driving when you're talking on a cell phone, texting, or searching for a track on your MP3 player. Without a doubt, all of us pay more attention to driving hazards if we're just driving and not using our cell phones of ipods. How much of the brain is diverted by the use of a cell phone? About 40%, and that's a lot.
Laws are beginning to reflect concern for the risks of drivers on their cell phones. 17 states prohibit new drivers from using a cell phone while driving; 6 states have outlawed hand held phones so drivers on a cell must use a wireless device to connect their hearing to the phone; 7 states don't allow people to text while driving. A driver's risk of accident increases sixfold if they're driving and texting. Let's remember there are risks to walking and talking or texting. People are wandering into traffic, not heeding crosswalks or streetlights because their attention is on their text messages and not their safety.
The psychology of cell phones and driving is to understand the brain really cannot multi-task safely when driving is the main task. If you take your attention away from your driving for more than 2 seconds, you greatly increase your risk of accident. Two seconds is not very long. 80% of crashes and 65% of near crashes involve the driver's inattention to driving for up to 3 seconds before the problem. You might think you're safely driving and using your phone, but you're less safe than if you were legally drunk and driving.
If you've got teenage drivers at home, they would be more safe if you make it a rule they cannot use their cell phone to talk or text while driving. Parents can work this into the family contract that allows their child to drive; not only can they not drive after drinking, but they can't drive and use their cell phone. Teach your kids not to get in a car when the driver is on their cell phone; you've probably already stressed the risks of getting into a car with a drunk driver teach them that cell phone usage is every bit as dangerous. Talk with them about how they can gracefully decline being in the car while the driver talks on the phone or texts. Remember, kids want to be accepted; it will be very hard for them to risk annoying a friend or appearing to be ridiculous by voicing their concerns over driving and cell phones. Help your child find a way to say they don't want the driver on the phone that suits your child; humor is often the best confrontation, especially with boys. "hey dude, no texting and driving". For the child who doesn't use sarcasm and humor, shift the blame to parents: "my parents won't let me drive if they catch me riding in a car when a driver is on the phone".
Your kids won't believe you when you stress how dangerous it is to drive and be on the phone, so be sure you're not breaking your own rules and using your cell phone while you drive. When your phone rings and you're driving, you could let the call roll over to voice mail. If you're expecting an urgent message that can't wait, pull over and take the call. When your family sees how you manage the cell phone, they're more likely to follow your example. The same attention issues apply to putting on makeup while driving, turning around to the child in the backseat, mediating fights amongst children, or reaching into the next seat to grab something. If you don't follow the rules, you can count on them not following the rules.
And what to do when your spouse, over whom you have less control than over your teenager, doesn't want to play by the cell phone rules? First off, decide how important this fight is in relation to all the other disagreements for which you need solutions. If it feels important enough, then keep insisting on a solution; if you've got more pressing issues that threaten your relationship, cell phones and driving won't look so important. Solutions are easy: Maybe you could drive when they have the need to be on the phone in the car; Maybe when the phone rings, you could answer and relay information while they keep driving; or, you could put the caller off until a few minutes later when your driver can find a place to pull off the road and call them back. Cell phones and texting increase risk while driving; use voice mail.