2016-06-08 13:19:05
8 June 2016
Drivers using a hands-free phone get just as distracted as those holding it in
their hand, researchers have found.
Scientists at the University of Sussex found conversations can cause the driver
to visually imagine what they are talking about.
This uses a part of the brain normally used to watch the road, the University
of Sussex study said.
The findings made the case for all phones to be banned from cars, according to
the lead researcher.
It is illegal in the UK to ride a motorcycle or drive using hand-held phones or
similar devices.
Drivers can get an automatic fixed penalty notice if caught using one. They
will get three penalty points on their licence and a fine of 100.
The law currently says drivers can use hands-free phones, sat navs and two-way
radios, but if the police think the driver is distracted and not in control of
the vehicle, they could get penalised.
Checking for hazards
The study involved 20 male and 40 female volunteers who took part in video
tests while sitting in a car seat behind a steering wheel.
One group of volunteers were allowed to "drive" undistracted while another two
heard a male voice from a loudspeaker 3ft (0.9m) away.
Those who were distracted by the voice engaging them in conversation took just
under a second longer to respond to events, such as a pedestrian stepping off
the pavement, an oncoming car on the wrong side of the road or an unexpected
vehicle parked at a junction.
The study showed that asking a simple question - such as, "where did you leave
the blue file?"- during phone conversations could mean a driver concentrates on
an area four times smaller than normal, because their brain is imagining the
room where they left the file, instead of checking for hazards in front of
them.
'Terrible accident'
Alice Husband's seven-year-old son Seth died in December 2014, two weeks after
he was hit by a car driven by a woman who was talking to a friend on her mobile
phone using the loudspeaker function.
Mrs Husband told BBC Radio 5 live she agreed with the coroner, who said at her
son's inquest that the use of the mobile phone would have had an impact.
"If my son perhaps wasn't so excited and didn't run, if he walked across the
road - he's a child - if the driver hadn't been speaking on her mobile phone,
all of these things could have made a difference to him, but at the end of the
day it was a terrible accident and nothing is going to bring Seth back," she
said.
"I think even just using a CD player; obviously we all know it is distracting
because you are looking away from the road and I think we need to be more aware
of how any distraction influences our driving and how important it is not to be
distracted by such things if you get a phone call."
Dr Graham Hole, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Sussex, said
the research laid bare the "popular misconception that using a mobile phone
while driving is safe as long as the driver uses a hands-free phone".
"The problem is enforceability - it's very difficult for the police to tell if
someone's using a hands-free phone," he said.
"But on balance, I think the law should be changed to get the right message
across and make it absolutely clear that any use of a mobile phone while
driving is hazardous."
'Lives lost'
Other studies have suggested that phone conversations in a car are more
off-putting than listening to the radio or talking to a passenger, Dr Hole
added.
A passenger chatting in a car is less distracting, the researchers argue,
because both stop talking when the driver needs to concentrate.
Alice Bailey, from road safety charity Brake, said: "These are life and death
decisions, these extra three car lengths is the difference between a child
dying and a child living and we just think the law needs to change.
"We need one clear law. All phones, hand-held and hands-free, need to be banned
in cars - the only safe phone is one that is switched off.
"How important is any phone conversation that lives are lost?"
Kevin Clinton, from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said he
was not surprised by the study's findings and also called for a law banning the
use of hands-free phones in cars.
"Sadly, people continue to lose their lives on our roads in crashes caused by
drivers who are distracted because they use a mobile phone," he said.
"This can so easily be avoided by all drivers switching off their phones while
driving, and only checking messages once they have stopped in a safe place."