Overheard Cell-Phone Conversations: When Less Speech Is More Di

Past studies have shown that pedestrians who used a phone while crossing the street are likely to experience a decrease in situational awareness, attention distraction and unsafe pedestrian behaviours (Nasar & Troyerb,

The use of pulling a phone out while driving , particularly for texting and during phone to ear conversations , cause visual , manual and cognitive distraction (Thompson 4 ). When drivers pull out their phones they are taking more than 50% of their attention away from the roads, for example some

In the article, Did You See the Unicycling Clown? Inattentional Blindness while Walking and Talking on a Cell Phone, by Ira Hyman and associates from Western Washington University, Hyman studied the concept of divided attention during walking. He conducted two studies, the first analyzed what students behavior was like if they were walking with their cellphone, MP3 player, or just walking with a friend. As they observed students on their way to class, a clown on a unicycle rode all around the quad. Hyman found that cell phone users walked more slowly, changed directions, and less likely to pay attention to their surroundings and others (Hyman, 2009, p. 600). Hyamn then states, “In the second study, we found that cell phone users were less likely to notice an unusual activity along their walking route (a unicycling clown). Cell phone usage may cause inattentional blindness even during a simple activity that should require few cognitive resources.” (Hyman, 2009, p. 597). Hyman and his colleagues shared that the

The evolution of the cell phone and their multiple capabilities has led to distractive driving that

1). Texting and using a cell phone are the two most common distractions while driving (“Distracted” para. 1). It Can Wait campaign has started to stop drivers from using handheld devices (“Distracted” para. 3). Distractions affect one’s driving performance (“Distracted” para. 5). Drivers are distracted around half the time they drive (“Distracted” para. 5).15% to 25% of crashes on all levels are caused by distraction (“Distracted” para. 5). Texting increases the driving risk, even more than regular cell phone use (“Distracted” para. 5). When cops fill out crash reports, the states should keep track of them (“Distracted” para. 6). There are many distraction while driving that may cause the driver to take focus off the road (“Distracted” para. 8). Some distraction that everyone does is : changing the radio or a CD, talking to passenger, and observing the event outside the vehicle (Distracted para. 8). There are effects on telematics on driving behaviors (“Distracted” para. 9). Some say that the electronic device companies need to inform the public about the real use of these devices (“Distracted” para.

With new technology being introduced on almost a daily basis, it needs to be decided what ways are safe to use that technology. Advanced technology has created an abundance of things that can be used while driving. The most popular technology used while driving is the cell phone. Although it was invented in the 1970s, the cell phone did not gain momentum until the 2000s. Even during its first days, the effect of a cell phone distraction was already in the spotlight (Brown, Tickner & Simmonds, 1969). Allowing people to talk wherever and whenever, it became important to ensure this technology was not harming society. Driving is a complex cognitive task. Since its use boomed in the 21st century, several road problems and accidents were linked

Since distracted driving effects the brain, there a multiple studies that showcase the effects being distracted by a cell phone has a motor cognitive skills. Most importantly; how efficiently the driver can react to pressing the break and stopping the car before causing an accident,

Talking on the phone is just as a distraction as texting and driving because you are attempting to multitask while driving. It may have you only use one hand to steer the wheel to drive while holding a phone. It can make the driver pay more attention to the phone or conversation instead of watching the road. Ten percent of all drivers 15 to 19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted during the time of the crash.

In 2007, 64% of US adults admitted to texting while driving despite the fact that 89% approved of laws that would ban the practice (Richtel, 242). Cell phone users, even though they are aware that texting and driving is dangerous, continue to text behind the wheel anyway. In A Deadly Wandering, Matt Richtel demonstrates that most drivers simply cannot help but be distracted by their cell phones as a result of both behavioral and neurological factors.

In another study on the effects driving while talking on cell phones by Strayer and Johnston (2001) shows ‘’the subjects a simulated driving task that required them to apply the brakes as quickly as possible in response to a red light. Doing this task while talking on a cell phone caused subjects to miss twice as many of the red lights as when they weren’t talking on the phone’’

Other evidence against hands free cell phone use while driving is simply that talking on hands free devices is just as bad as talking on handheld devices in relation to driver performance (Ishigami & Klein, 2009). To determine this, Ishigami and Klein (2007) reviewed the results of several separate studies that investigated the impacts of handheld and hands free cell phone usage on the detection reaction times of drivers. These studies were: Abdel-Aty (2003), Burns et al. (2002), Consiglio et al. (2003), Haigney et al. (2000), McEvoy et al. (2005), Patten et al. (2004), Redelmeier and Tibshirani (1997), Strayer and Johnson (2001), Strayer, Drews, and Crouch (2006), and Törnros and Boiling (2005, 2006). Consiglio et al. studied the effects of auditory distractions, such as cell phone, by measuring the reaction time of participants using a non-driving, braking task where participants released an accelerator and applied the brakes if a red light were shown. The control group performed the task without auditory stimulation. Strayer and Johnson (2001) examined the effects of phone conversation on

In order to prove that distracted driving is dangerous and has serious consequences, an experiment should be conducted to prove the following hypothesis: talking on the cell phone impairs driving skills.

“A distracted driver may fail to see up to 50% of the available information in the driving environment. You may look but not actually “see” what is happening. Focus of the driver is not on the road or traffic and it becomes difficult to handle phone and vehicle at one time. Cell phones during driving also reduce the mental capacity of drivers as they fail to concentrate on minor or major activities happening around them. Cell phones distract drivers' attention resulting in comparatively slow response to traffic signals and other related traffic events. Studies have shown the fact that breaking reaction time is also slower while talking on a cell phone during driving. The perception, vision, general awareness, and concentration of the driver are impacted while communicating on a cell phone during driving. Especially during bad weather or driving on slippery roads, drivers engaging in conversation pay less attention to these areas increasing risks of fatal accidents.

Have you ever driven home or walked home from somewhere, but had little awareness of your actual journey home3. I know that I, myself walked back to my house after class only to realize that I don’t remember actually walking back and I have even unintentionally walked home when I intended to go someplace else. In this paper Hyman et al. investigate the process by which people who have divided their attention on two separate things, such as cell phone users, may not perceive things yet often avoid running into them just as I have when I made it home safely even though I did not remember my walk home. To test this, the researchers placed a signboard on a pathway and observed people as they walked near it and avoided it. Then further down the path they stopped the people and asked them if they had passed any obstacles on the walkway. If they said they had seen an obstacle then they were asked to identify it. Then if they did not mention the sign then they were asked directly if they had seen the sign and if they knew what the sign said. The researchers found that cell phone users moved to avoid the sign when they were very close to it, specifically within feet, 25.8% of the time whereas the people without a cell phone only did this 9.6% of the time. Additionally, 63% of cell phone users saw the sign and 55.6% of them knew what it said whereas 89.1% of the

Hands free cell phone usage should not be used while driving based on evidence that shows that the use a cell phone while driving leads to more driving mistakes and overall lack of awareness (Sanbonmatsu et al., 2015). Drivers that use cell phones make more serious and minor errors, but cannot recall making these errors due to a lack of awareness. These drivers are more unaware of their inconsistent speed, placement in lanes and near accidents than those that are not using a cell phone. Additionally, these drivers are less likely to self-regulate their driving efficiently like drivers not using cell phones because of this lack of awareness. This reduction in self-regulation moreover leads to an increase in both minor and major errors (Sanbonmatsu et al. 2015). To determine this, Sanbonmatsu et al. (2015) gathered participants and split them into either a control/no cell phone group and an experimental/cell phone group. These participants were then tested in a driving simulator with the control group simply running through the simulator while the cell phone group called a friend or family member and had a conversation on a hands free device. The results of this experiment indicated that even though the control group did still make errors, they had more awareness of those errors than the experimental group, and made less serious errors than the experimental group.