Cells are distracting, hands down

August 27, 2005

BY MONIFA THOMAS Staff Reporter

Communication is a two-way street, and a new study suggests both sides of the road are dangerous for motorists using cell phones.

Talking and listening on a cell phone are equally likely to keep drivers from maintaining a consistent speed and following distance, according to research from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The findings, which appear in the August issue of the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology, surprised researchers who expected listeners using hands-free devices to drive less erratically than people talking.

"The intuitive notion is that production [talking] would be harder than comprehension, so we thought production might have a larger detriment to driving performance," said Tate Kubose, lead author of the study and a post-doctorate fellow of psychology at the University of Illinois.

Difficulty maintaining speed

Nearly 100 students with an average of six years' driving experience participated in two sets of experiments that involved simulated driving while talking on a hands-free set and listening to conversations on cell phones.

Both groups were about 20 percent more likely than students driving without cell phones to have difficulty maintaining a speed of 55 mph and keeping a safe following distance behind another vehicle, said researcher Arthur Kramer, a psychology professor at the University of Illinois.

The study is part of a growing body of evidence that suggests the act of conversation poses more of a distraction to drivers on mobile phones than the mechanics of dialing and holding a phone.

Chicago is among several cities that have passed ordinances that aim to limit distractions by requiring drivers to use a hands-free accessory when operating a cell phone.