From TNPC issue #4.15...

Banning Hand-held Cell Phone Technology Misses the Mark

by T.J. Lee
July 26, 2001

As a consultant I've had to troubleshoot a number of technology related problems. Some hardware specific such as bad motherboards, hard disk errors, RAM parity, cabling, etc., and problems more involved with procedures and information automation. The most important thing is to go for a true cure and not just fix some particular symptom. This leaves the underlying problem untouched. I read about the state of New York recently banning yakking on hand-held cellular phones while driving and it occurred to me that the politicians involved would do well to consider this fundamental axiom of consulting.

I've been following this debate for a while now and there's indication of similar laws being bandied about in other states here in the USA as well as other parts of the world. On one side you have safety concerns and on the other the "personal freedom" point of view. Insurance companies, law enforcement agencies, government bureaus, and local municipalities contend that talking on a cell phone distracts the driver and therefore pose a threat to the public safety. Others think they do not and if government bans cell phones today there's no stopping what they'll ban in the future.

Personally I don't use a cell phone in the car. I just don't want to be that "reachable" and I don't spend 10 hours a week or more commuting to the office anymore. I say this only to point out that I don't have a personal stake in the issue. But after reading two studies on this topic I'm intrigued with how science and politics seem to be reading from different texts where this safety issue is concerned. The New York law bans only hand-held cell phone models. The hands-free models are getting a free pass presumably because they allow you to keep two hands on the steering wheel and therefore must be safer.

Now I think that anything that distracts the driver of an automobile is to some degree dangerous. That includes tuning the radio, eating a sandwich, and breaking up an altercation between two siblings in the back seat (a scenario with which I have some personal experience). Dialing a phone is a distraction but to what extent is talking on the phone and what's the difference between holding a phone in one hand and using a hands-free model?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration here in the US has conducted studies that show talking on the phone causes you to have a longer reaction time in braking and that cell phone usage *does* increase the risk of a crash. If you look at the study carefully it's interesting to note that the highest risk to the automobile occurs when the driver talking on the phone is in "easy" driving conditions such as: straight road, good weather, and/or familiar surroundings. If you're driving late at night, in a storm, down a mountain road, you're safer talking on a cell phone than if you're heading to the local store on a clear, pleasant Saturday afternoon.

To me this indicates that it is the conversation, not the physical cell phone in hand, that is the most potentially dangerous distraction to the driver. You're safer talking in dangerous driving conditions because your brain recognizes the danger you're facing and shifts more of you concentration to driving than following the phone conversation. You're in more risk chatting on your way to the local store because you feel safe and so focus more on the conversation instead of your driving. Which begs the point that a hands-free cellular phone that allows you to operate it without making you a one-handed driver is not appreciably safer than a handheld.

I'm afraid that banning hand-held phones in cars while allowing hands-free models misses the underlying problem. It's not the juggling of the phone that puts drivers in the more significant danger; it's the amount of concentration that gets focused on the conversation instead of piloting the automobile.

You can reach T.J. Lee at:
mailto:tj_lee@TheNakedPC.com

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