Cellular Phone Safety
Safe driving requires you to stay focused and keep your mind on the road. Studies show that talking on a cell phone in a moving vehicle quadruples the risk of collision. AAA recommends drivers not use their cell phones while driving. However, if using a phone is essential, drivers should follow these safety tips:
Some Helpful Tips for Safe Driving
- Recognize that driving requires your full attention.
- Before you get behind the wheel, familiarize yourself with the features of your cell phone.
- Use your cell phone only if it is absolutely necessary.
- If you must use your phone, do so at a safe time and place.
- Ask a passenger in the car to place the call for you and, if possible, speak in your place.
- Plan your conversation in advance and keep it short.
- Inform the person you're calling that you are speaking from the car.
- Hang up the phone as soon as possible, especially in heavy traffic and hazardous weather conditions.
- Secure your phone in the car so that it doesn't become a projectile in a crash.
Frequently Asked Questions
Click on any question to learn more.
How do hand-held cell phones factor into the equation?
Using a cellular phone while driving can increase your chances of being involved in a crash. However, cell phones aren't the only problem. Other distractions, such as looking at outside objects and other people in the vehicle, pose a greater risk of contributing to crashes than cell phone use.
Why are hand-held cell phones at the heart of the debate?
Hand-held cell phones are readily visible to other drivers. When people
chance upon a distracted driver and notice a cell phone, they naturally blame
the phone. Most drivers are frustrated when they see inconsiderate, inattentive
drivers talking on cell phones.
However, it's more difficult to determine if a distracted driver is talking
to a passenger, tuning the radio or eating.
Hands-free phones are not risk-free. The hands-free feature
is simply a convenience; it does not increase safety.
Studies show that hands-free cellular phones distract drivers
the same as hand-held phones. Why? Because it's the conversation that distracts
the driver—not the device.
Studies show that intellectual activities distract drivers. Such activities
impair their ability to drive safely and retain control of the vehicle.
In one study, drivers were given simple concentration exercises to perform
while driving. None required drivers to remove their eyes from the road.
However, performing the exercises significantly diminished the drivers' ability
to drive. Specific changes in driving behavior included tunnel vision, decreased
road scanning and decreased use of rear-view mirrors. Drivers also reduced
their speed when performing the exercises.
Will banning hand-held cell phones improve safety?
Not according to current research. A study funded by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety about the effect of cell phone use on driver attention found that the distraction of using a hands-free cell phone and tuning a radio is similar. Regarding the question of banning specific devices such as hand-held cell phones, two facts are clear:
- Banning hand-held phones, but allowing hands-free phones is likely to have little or no effect on safety. No studies show hands-free phones offer safety advantages over hand-held phones. The distracting factor is the conversation—not the device itself. And no one can legislate when and what drivers think.
- Banning hands-free phones won't address the larger issue. Banning hands-free
phones will not affect other distractions in the car, which are equally
as distracting as cell phones.
