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Why do Cell Phone Conversations Interfere with Driving?

Why do Cell Phone Conversations Interfere with Driving?. David Strayer, Frank Drews, & Bill Johnston Department of Psychology University of Utah. Do Cell Phones Interfere With Driving?. Research Questions. Does conversing on a cell phone interfere with driving?

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Why do Cell Phone Conversations Interfere with Driving?

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  1. Why do Cell Phone Conversations Interfere with Driving? David Strayer, Frank Drews, & Bill Johnston Department of Psychology University of Utah

  2. Do Cell Phones Interfere With Driving?

  3. Research Questions • Does conversing on a cell phone interfere with driving? • How significant is the interference? • What are the causes the interference?- Peripheral interference (dialing, holding the phone)- Attentional interference (cell phone conversation) • Legislative initiatives tacitly endorse the peripheral interference hypothesis

  4. Conditions- Hand-Held Cell Phone- Hands-Free Cell Phone- Radio Control- Book on Tape Control Conversations- Clinton Impeachment- Olympic Bribery Scandal Study I Driving & Conversation Driving Warm-up Driving 36 minutes

  5. Response to Simulated Traffic Signals • Subjects responded to red and green traffic signals • Measures:- Probability of missing signals- Reaction time to detected signals • Preliminary Analysis- Hand-Held = Hands-Free - Radio Control = Book on Tape Control

  6. Single Dual Cell Phone Control

  7. Study I

  8. Study I

  9. Conclusions (Study I) • Using a cellular phone while driving impairs performance - Twice as likely to miss critical/unpredictable events - Slower to react to critical/unpredictable events • Cell phone conversation itself causes the interference • Hands-free phones do not appear to be the solution, because the deficits appear to be due to attentional demands imposed by the conversation

  10. High-Fidelity Simulator Study

  11. Conditions- Traffic Density (Low vs. High)- Task (Single vs. Dual) Procedure- Four 10-mile multilane freeway segments- Follow a pace car that brakes periodically Study II Adaptation D1 D2 C1 D3 D4 80 minutes

  12. Cell Phone Conversations • Conversations with confederate- Topics determined in pre-experimental questionnaire • Hands-free cell phones, call initiated before driving • Any interference must be due to the cell phone conversation, because there is no manual manipulation of the cell phone

  13. Response to Braking Pace Car • Performance Measures:- Time to initiate braking- Time to take foot off brake pedal- Driving speed- Following distance- Number of accidents

  14. Single Dual Low Density High Density

  15. Brake Profile

  16. Study II

  17. Study II

  18. Speed Profile

  19. Study II

  20. Following Distance Profile

  21. Study II

  22. Conclusions(Study II) • Drivers using cell phones exhibit “sluggish” behavior:- Slower to initiate braking - Depress brake longer - Take longer to reach their minimum speed • Drivers using a cell phone try to compensate by:- Driving slower- Increasing their following distance- But inadequate (more accidents in dual-task, high density) • Using hands-free wireless communication interferes with driving by diverting attention to an engaging cognitive context not immediately associated with driving

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