Del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
TwitThis
Cell Phones and Driving Ability
To understand what happens during distractions, I traveled to the NADS facility in Iowa City, where researchers promised to give me the ride of my life in the NADS-1, the most sophisticated driving simulator in the world. The plan was to re-create a study they undertook three years ago on how cell phone use affects driving ability.
The simulator is a real car—on my day, a 1997 Jeep Cherokee with about 139,000 miles—fitted inside a 24-foot dome with a 360-degree photo-realistic projection system. The interior is normal, except for two small eye-tracking cameras and some infrared lights.
There is no engine; hood and trunk are packed with computer gear that translates driving moves into actual movement. Instead of wheels, the car is mounted on high-frequency vibration actuators that simulate road conditions. Speakers at ground level provide realistic highway noise. The entire capsule slides along a 64-foot motion rail.
Technicians lead me through a sealed door into the capsule, and I buckle into what feels like an SUV from outer space. The screen surrounding the car flashes to life, and suddenly I'm driving, really driving, down a busy city street with other cars and pedestrians.
A research assistant riding in the backseat instructs me to pick up the handheld phone and dial one of several numbers posted on the dashboard. Earlier, I had been briefed that a recorded voice on the line will recite a series of simple sentences containing a subject, verb and object— such as "The shortstop caught the ball." After listening to four sentences, I will be asked to recall either the subjects or the objects. Some sentences will be nonsensical—"The fish ate the noise"—and I will have to say which ones make sense and which don't. This exercise will be repeated many times. All of this requires actually paying attention to the phone call, much as you would if your boss were calling about a big meeting. (In the real study, participants were paid extra for correct answers, encouraging them to listen carefully.)
I also have to scan the landscape for a certain pedestrian wearing a University of Iowa team jersey, who will keep popping up alongside the road. Every time he appears, I have to press a button on the steering wheel. NADS researcher Dawn Marshall tells me that this "target detection" task simulates a driver scanning for an address or someone to pick up.
Off we go, and quite well at first—until a car running a red light pulls out in front of me, just as I'm trying to decipher a nonsensical sentence. I slam on the brakes and screech to a stop in the intersection. I can't tell if I hit the car, but the test continues.
Trying to listen to the phone, I slow down, causing cars behind me to tailgate and swerve. (Participants were paid more if they maintained the 45 mph speed limit.) Twenty minutes later, I'm very glad this cruise to nowhere is over. And no offense to the Iowa Hawkeyes, but if I never see their jersey again, it will be too soon.
How did I do? Marshall says I managed to avoid the car in the intersection—but barely. And like a lot of experienced drivers, I tended to slow down when distracted. "You tried to modulate by reacting sooner," says Marshall. "That can be good, but it doesn't always work." Younger drivers in the test, she points out, often just plowed ahead while talking on the phone. "Some didn't even stop after they hit a car."
In short, I performed about average, according to the study, which found that drivers talking on the phone experienced a 20 to 25 percent delay in adjusting their speed when a car in front of them slowed down. That's down to an average delayed reaction of three- to four-tenths of a second—enough time to cause an accident, Marshall notes.
Most significantly, the researchers found virtually no difference in reaction time between those using handheld phones, hands-free headsets and speakerphones—although drivers fumbling with clamshell phones did exhibit a greater tendency to overcompensate on steering corrections.
Conclusion? "The distraction is not so much the physical act of using the phone as the process of talking and thinking," says senior team leader Omar Ahmad.
So why is talking on a cell phone any worse than chatting with a passenger? "Someone in the car is aware of the surroundings and can modulate the conversation based on the situation," he explains. "A person on the other end of the cell phone can't see the traffic and is unlikely to pause when a car pulls out in front of you."
I left Iowa with a new appreciation for the dangers of distracted driving. But experts say it won't be easy to convince busy drivers to keep their eyes on the road. Insurers hope public awareness campaigns will be a good start, but Ulczycki of the NSC is skeptical: "With seat belts and drunk driving, a lot of education had a very small effect. Only when we got tougher laws did people change their behaviors."
Currently five states (California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Washington) and Washington, D.C., ban the use of handheld cell phones while driving, and 16 more plus the District of Columbia restrict their use by young drivers. But the laws are difficult to enforce.
Terri Gaulkin wants to see a total ban on cell phone use for drivers in Maine. Three and a half years after her husband died, she settled her lawsuit against driver Voutiritsa, Ryder and Stericycle. Jonathan Brogan, attorney for all three defendants, praised Gaulkin and called the case "extremely sad," adding that Voutiritsa has admitted fault. (He could not be reached for comment.) When friends call her from a cell phone, Gaulkin says, "Are you driving? I can't talk to you."
Advertisement 
