Dear Straight Talk: You recently ran a column where you quoted David Strayer, of the University of Utah, saying that cell phones make teens drive like the elderly. You went on to advocate hands-free cell phones for driving. However, in Strayer’s study the drivers were using hands-free phones! Strayer’s conclusion was that it was the phone conversation itself that made drivers “instantly age” and that being “actively part of a conversation” is what impairs driving.
So, how can you advocate hands-free use when it is just as dangerous as hand-held use? I would think you would be supporting an all-out ban.
Personally, I’d like to see insurance companies offer discounts to drivers who do not use cell phones (except in emergencies), and charge a higher premium to drivers who do—or deny their claim if a cell phone contributed to the accident.—Mark W.
Dear Mark: Thank you for clarifying Strayer’s research. I missed the boat on that one. According to his study, yakking on the phone, regardless of whether that phone is hands-free or hand-held, is what gives young adults the reaction time of septuagenarians.
Nevertheless, I maintain my support for hands-free use in the car. I don’t know Strayer’s methodology, but to convince me that driving with one hand clamped to my ear is as safe as driving with two hands on the wheel, I would need further persuasion.
In addition, I’m a realist. Cell phones are here to stay and it’s tricky to ban some distractions and not others. Accidents involving distracted drivers make up just one percent of all accidents. Driving under the influence and excessive speed still do the heavy lifting it that department. Of those distracted-driver accidents, eleven percent are linked to cell phones, 9 percent to music, 11 percent to reading, primping, eating, smoking, or tending children and pets, but the majority—67 percent—are caused by daydreaming, reading street signs, and general inattention.
Cell phone use is definitely a new distraction, one that needs to be addressed and I think getting both hands back on the wheel is the best direction to take. I recommend my readers purchase a headset or a wireless over-the-ear attachment for their phone. And, of course, never text and drive.
From Farren, 19: Blaming cell phones is completely ridiculous. If insurance companies were to charge a higher rate or deny a claim for cell phone use, they would have to do the same thing for anyone who uses an iPod, a radio, or a CD player—not to mention anyone who eats while driving or is caught conversing with passengers.
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