Cellular telephones and driving performance: the effects of attentional demands on motor vehicle crash risk.
Hunton J, Rose JM. · 2005
View Original AbstractHands-free cell phone conversations demand more brain attention than talking to passengers, proving technology alone doesn't solve distracted driving risks.
Plain English Summary
Researchers compared how hands-free cell phone conversations affect driving performance compared to talking with a passenger in the car. They found that cell phone conversations require significantly more mental attention and interfere more with driving than in-person conversations because drivers must work harder to compensate for missing visual and social cues. The study also showed that people with specialized communication training (like pilots) performed better while using phones and driving.
Why This Matters
This research provides crucial insight into why hands-free cell phone use while driving remains dangerous despite eliminating the physical distraction of holding a device. The science demonstrates that the cognitive load of cell phone conversations is fundamentally different from in-person conversations. When you talk to a passenger, you share visual context and can rely on nonverbal cues that naturally regulate the conversation flow. Cell phone conversations lack these elements, forcing your brain to work overtime to fill in the missing information. What this means for you is that even hands-free devices don't eliminate the safety risks of phone use while driving. The reality is that your brain treats phone conversations as more demanding tasks than face-to-face communication, regardless of whether your hands are free.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
This study examines the effects of conversation mode and split-attention communication training on driving performance.
The study is based on an experiment where drivers with and without communication training (pilots vs...
Results indicate that cellular telephone conversations consume more attention and interfere more wit...
Show BibTeX
@article{j_2005_cellular_telephones_and_driving_2213,
author = {Hunton J and Rose JM.},
title = {Cellular telephones and driving performance: the effects of attentional demands on motor vehicle crash risk.},
year = {2005},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16268934/},
}