Tag Archives: cognitive

General Safety Issues

NATIONAL DISTRACTED DRIVING AWARENESS MONTH – PART I

Letting oneself become distracted while driving is one of the most dangerous things our highways are facing.  First, food and drink were the contributors to distracted driving.  Now, with cell phones being the main culprit, we are seeing more and more accidents being caused by not only talking on the phone while driving, but texting while behind the wheel.  New cars are being designed with technological advancements that require looking at the screen rather than the road, so it is easy to see why so many drivers today are guilty of driving distracted, often as a result of multi-tasking. 

According to studies on driving distractions, focus is placed on three major forms of distractions: physical, visual, and cognitive.  Using a cell phone while driving places cognitive demands on the user.  Talking on the phone requires concentration to listen, process and respond as opposed to just listening.  An even higher, more dangerous level of driving distraction is text messaging.  This affects all three major forms of driving distraction simultaneously.  It has been shown that hands-free phones are no safer than handheld ones. 

Almost every day we  hear a story about a child or innocent person who has been killed by someone talking on his/her cell phone, who ran a red light, or failed to see the other car.  Go to Focus Driven – Advocates for Cell-Free Driving and read some of the stories of how the use of cell phones while driving have impacted the lives of others, those who lost a child or family member.  There is no conversation that is so important that is worth taking the chance of hurting or killing someone.  It’s a simple thing to turn that cell phone off.  Your messages will be there when you arrive safely at your destination.  Just think how convenient it is to have your very own answering machine with you, taking your messages.  If you will get into the habit of turning your phone off, you will learn to appreciate a nice, quiet drive without disruption.  The experience of reading those stories has convinced me to turn my phone off while I am driving.  I have said it before, and then slipped back into the habit of setting it close by, but I don’t want to be guilty of hurting an innocent person because of some conversation with a friend, that could wait until I am out of my car. 

In the words of one of the guest bloggers on the Original Blog of Focus Driven-Advocates for Cell-Free phones: “Should connectivity be prioritized over safety?  Refraining from using a cell phone while driving may seem impossible to some.  Drivers using cell phones are four times as likely to crash.  Sending or receiving text messages increases crash risk by at least eight times.  No text, no conversation, no status update of email is worth putting your life, or another person’s life, in danger.”  This man was describing the devastation of losing his 12-year old son, who was riding with his mother when her SUV was hit on his side of the car by a woman ran a red light, talking on her cell-phone.  His son would now be 21, and, sadly,  his parents can only imagine what he would have been like at that age. 

If we are ever to change this problem, it is going to involve everyone.  If you receive a call from someone while they are driving, ask them to hang up, because you don’t want them to have an accident, and then ask them to call you when they get home.  Speak up if you are a passenger, and tell your driver to please stop texting while you are in the car.  It will take courage to tell your friends, family members and co-workers, who use their cell phones while driving, to ask them to take the pledge to drive cell-free.  Help change the social acceptance about cell phone distracted driving.  This should begin with new drivers, who need to get into the habit of not using their phones as soon as they begin driving, and of course, parents, who should have set the example for them. 

Tomorrow, we will continue with how distracted driving affects companies’ liability when their drivers use cell phones while operating company vehicles, and how they are correcting the problem.

General Safety Issues

TURN THE PHONE OFF WHILE DRIVING, PLEASE!

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Continuing with this important message about safety while driving (featuring cell phone use), the National Safety Council is using the final week of National Safety Month to focus on the theme: On the Road – Off the Phone!  Yesterday, we gave statistics that involve crashes on U.S. highways, many attributed to distracted driving, and that distracted driving has been added to the top leading factors in fatal and serious injury crashes, along with alcohol and speeding.  Using a cell phone while driving can be a serious distraction. 

Drivers must understand the full impact of driving while talking on cell phones with either handheld or hands-free phones.  We want to explain how cognitively complex it is to talk on the phone and drive a vehicle at the same time, and why this drains the brain’s resources.  We like to think of ourselves as being able to “multitask” in today’s society.  Even though you may complete a phone coversation while driving and arrive safely, you did not “multitask” and you did not accomplish both tasks with optimal focus and effectiveness.

Our brains cannot perform two tasks at the same time.  The brain handles tasks sequentially, switching between one task and another. Yes, they can juggle tasks very quickly, which makes us think that we are doing two things at the same time.  However, we are switching attention between tasks, doing only one at a time.  The brain has to decide what to pay attention to.  This is known as “attention switching.”  When you are talking on a cell phone while driving, your brain is dealing with divided attention.  You may be more interested in the conversation than the warnings of navigation and safety hazards.  You may be so involved in the phone conversation that you fail to see a red light or stop sign, until it is too late. 

According to Barry Kantowitz, Director of University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, thinking about a conversation requires mental capability made for safe driving.  He doesn’t hold out much hope for hands-free devices because they tend to reduce the amount of concentration required to process a phone conversation.  University of Kansas psychology professor, Paul Atchley states, “hands-free devices are only safer under very limited circumstances”.  In his work, hands-free devices show a reduction in attention in drivers 20-years-old, to the same attention level they see in many 85-year-old drivers.

We think it’s easy to talk on a cell phone while taking a walk, but even then your judgment can be impaired.  If that’s the case, think how much more responsibility you should show when you are behind the wheel.  Listening to music does not result in lower response time, according to studies.  But when the same drivers talk on cell phones, they do have a slower response time.  Loud music, however, can prevent drivers from hearing sirens and other warnings they should be alert for.

These articles are meant for drivers of every age.  It is our hope that thinking about this will keep yourself and others on the road safer.  I see mothers driving down the streets with little children in the back seat,  but they are more engaged in texting and talking on the phone.  All of us can name an incident where there was a sign of inattention by a driver, (even a close call!)  I know someone who can’t seem to talk while driving without turning to address her audience in the back seat.  We can all make a list of things that shouldn’t be done while driving, let me go first! 

But this week’s focus is on leaving the cell phone off while driving.  This is not too much to ask of anyone.  It would be great, if technology could do it for us; then we wouldn’t have to trust each other to do the right thing!   Please drive safely!  Remember, you must pay attention to the other guy, as well as yourself.