I've been saying for years that the very act of talking on the phone is the distraction while driving, not the fact that you're holding it in your hand. I offered the image of someone not behind the wheel -- note the stare into the middle distance and how much it takes to get him or her to pay attention to something else.
Finally, an article with some science to back me up: Katharine Mieszkowski, "Hang up and drive."
3 comments:
I haven't read the article yet, but intuitively I have to disagree with you (WOW! How about THAT?)
If it's merely the conversation that is the distraction which could lead to an accident, how much more of a distraction is the person you are talking to in the back seat, that you occasionally glance over your shoulder at, or try to make eye contact in the mirror, and make wild gestures which you know the person will see?
One person to a vehicle?
Presumably by now you've read the article, John. If not, it turns out that your intuition is wrong in this case -- people in the car talking to you, while not no distraction at all, are far less a distraction than is talking on the phone while driving. A big part of it is that those in the car with you (usually) know when to be quiet. Another part is that longer moments of silence are less objectionable when you're conversing in person; i.e., it's easier to pause and attend to the driving moment at hand before giving an answer to the person sitting next to you than it is to the person on the other phone.
it turns out that your intuition is wrong
That's rude. :)
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