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Randall Jeppesen and Ed Yeates reportingThe latest study from University of Utah researchers shows cell phone users congest traffic and prolong travel time for everybody. The data will be presented to the National Transportation Research Board next week.
On a simulator, Ivana demonstrates the difficulty driving while using a cell phone. She's part of a University of Utah team that's finished yet another part of a continuing series of studies.
Dr. Dave Strayer, with the psychology research at the University of Utah, said, "Someone who is talking on a cell phone will drive slower. They'll stay in the lane longer than they should. If they do hit the brake, they're slower to react, and when they step on the gas to resume speed, it takes them longer."
Dr. Dave Strayer says the mind reacts this way regardless of age, sex or driving savvy. Using a traffic model created by environmental engineer Peter Martin, the "puddling" or slowing down gums up the system for everybody.
"At the end of the day, the average person's commute is longer because of that person who is on the cell phone right in front of them," says Dr. Strayer. "You could easily see somewhere between 20 and 40 hours of time per year is spent in traffic because of a number of distracted drivers on the highway," he adds.
Previous studies looked at handheld cell phones, where you have one hand on the wheel and the other hand on the phone, but this latest research involved only hands-free cell phones. While the mind can focus attention on other kinds of multi-tasking, researcher Joel Cooper says attempts to train the psyche to deal with driving and conversing on a cell phone at the same time - handheld or not - have failed.
"You never know quite what the person on the other end of the line is going to ask you. And driving is the same way. So it's sort of the unpredictable nature of these two tasks that creates a combination that isn't conducive to learning," Cooper said.
The only lesson learned here, according to researchers, is: Don't drive while using a cell phone. There are 240-million cell phone subscribers in the United States. Two out of every three people now use cell phones.
