®Whydrivingwhileusinghandsfree cellphonesisriskybehavior NationalSafetyCouncil WhitePaper nsc. org MotorVehicleCrashes

®Whydrivingwhileusinghandsfree cellphonesisriskybehavior National. Safety. Council White. Paper

nsc. org Motor. Vehicle. Crashes • No. 1 causeofdeath • Anestimated 39, 000 to 46, 000 people killedincrasheseveryyear • Morethan 2. 2 millioninjuriesfrom crashesin 2008 Distractionsnow join alcoholand speedingas leadingfactorsin fatalandserious injurycrashes.

nsc. org Distracted. Driving • Driverdistractionsleadingfactorinfatal andseriousinjurycrashes • In 2008, 28%ofallcrashesattributable tocellphones – 1. 6 millioncrashes – 645, 000 injuries • Cellphoneusers 4 xaslikelytocrash

nsc. org Millionsof. Peopleare Talking. While. Driving • 11%ofdriversatanypointduring thedayareoncellphones • 81%ofdriversadmittotalkingon cellphonewhiledriving: – 74%of. Boomers – 88%of. Gen. X – 89%of. Gen. Y – 62%of. Teen. Drivers

nsc. org Millionsof. Peopleare Texting. While. Driving • 18%ofdriversadmittotexting whiledriving: – 4%of. Boomers – 15%of. Gen. X – 39%of. Gen. Y – 36%of. Teen. Drivers

nsc. org Driving. Culture. Change “ Acenturyago, Model. T’sbroughtmotoring toanemergingmiddleclass. Ahalfcenturyago, teenagerscuddledin convertiblesatdriveinmovies. Anewgenerationofdriversseecarsasan extensionoftheirpluggedinlives, withi. Pods, DVDplayersandothergadgets. ” USA Today, 2 -17 —

nsc. org Driving. Culture. Change • Webster’s. Dictionarynamed“distracteddriving” its 2009 Wordofthe. Year • In 2009: – Morethan 200 statebillsintroduced – U. S. DOTDistracted. Driving. Summitheld – President. Obamasigned. Executive. Order – NSCmembershipsurvey – Favorablepublicopinionpolls

nsc. org How. Cell. Phones. Distract • Visual–Eyesoffroad • Mechanical–Handsoffwheel • Cognitive–Mindoffdriving CHALLENGE: Driversdon’t understandorrealizethattalkingon acellphonedistractsthebrainand takesfocusawayfromtheprimary taskofdriving.

nsc. org The. Problem • Handsfreeseenassolutionand mistakenlybelievedtobesafer thanhandheld • Peoplerecognizetheriskoftalking onhandheldandtextingmorethan theriskofhandsfree • Mostlegislationfocusesononly handhelddevicesortexting • Allstatelawsandsomeemployer policiesallowhandsfreedevices Handsfree devicesoffer nosafetybenefit whendriving.

nsc. org Whatisa. Hands. Free. Device? • Headsetthatcommunicatesviawireor wirelessconnectiontocellphone • Factoryinstalledoraftermarketfeature builtintovehicle(voicerecognition)

nsc. org Cognitive. Distraction • Cognitivedistractionstillexistswithhandsfree – Talkingoccursonbothhandheldand handsfreecellphones – Mindfocusesonconversation – Listenandrespondtodisembodiedvoice Handsfree devicesdonot eliminate cognitive distraction.

nsc. org Multitasking: ABrain. Drain • Multitaskingforthebrain isamyth • Humanbrainsdonotperform twotasksatsametime – Brainhandlestasks sequentially – Brainswitchesbetween onetaskandanother Thefourlobesofthebrain. Source: National. Institutesof. Health

nsc. org Multitasking: ABrain. Drain Brainengagesinaconstantprocessto: 1. Select informationbrainwillattendto 2. Process information 3. Encode tocreatememory 4. Store information Itmustalso: 5. Retrieve 6. Execute oractoninformation Whenbrainisoverloadedthesestepsareaffected

nsc. org Multitasking: ABrain. Drain Encoding. Stage • Brainfiltersinformationduetooverload • Driversnotawareofinformationfilteredout • Informationdoesnotgetintomemory • Driversmisscriticalinformationonpotentialhazards Inattention blindness and encoding. Source: National Safety Council

nsc. org Multitasking: ABrain. Drain • Brainjugglestasks, focusandattention • Brainswitchesbetweenprimaryandsecondarytasks • Inattentionblindness – Whenpeopledo 2 cognitivelycomplex tasks (drivingandusingacellphone), causingbrainto shiftfocus • Bottleneck – Differentregionsofbrainmustpullfromashared andlimitedresourceforunrelatedtasks

nsc. org Inattention. Blindness • Atypeofcognitivedistraction – “ looking”butnot“seeing” • Handsfreedrivers less likelytosee: – Highandlowrelevantobjects – Visualcues – Exits, redlightsandstopsigns – Navigationalsignage – Contentofobjects

nsc. org Inattention. Blindness Wheredriversnotusinga handsfreecellphonelooked. Wheredriversusinga handsfreecellphonelooked. Source: Transport. Canada. Anarrowedscope

nsc. org Multitasking: Impairs. Performance • Carnegie. Mellon. University. Study(2008) • Tookf. MRIpicturesofbrainwhiledrivers listenedtosentencesanddrovesimulator • Literallyseetheresults…

nsc. org. Drivingalone. Drivingwithsentencelistening LR Functionalmagneticresonanceimagingimages. Source: Carnegie. Mellon. University LR

nsc. org Multitasking: Impairs. Performance • Justlisteningtosentencesoncellphonesdecreased activityby 37%inthebrain’sparietallobewhich perceivesmovement, integratessensoryinformation andalsohasimportanceforlanguageprocessing • Listeningandlanguagecomprehensiondrew cognitiveresourcesawayfromdriving • Alsodecreasedactivityinbrain’soccipitallobewhich processesvisualinformation

nsc. org Multitasking: Impairs. Performance • Wecanwalkandchewgumsafelybecause itisnotacognitivelydemandingtask • Butevencellphoneusingpedestriansactunsafely. Theyarelesslikelyto: – Lookfortrafficbeforesteppingintostreet – Lookattrafficwhilecrossingstreet – Noticeunusualobjectsplacedalongpath

nsc. org Multitasking: Impairs. Performance • Drivinginvolvesamorecomplexsetoftasks thanwalking: – Visual – Manual – Cognitive – Auditory • Adriver’sjobistowatchforhazards, butthis cannotbedonewhenbrainisoverloaded

nsc. org Cell. Phone: Driver. Risks • Inattentionblindness • Slowerreaction/responsetimes • Problemsstayinginlane

nsc. org Passenger. Conversations • Adultpassengersshareawarenessofdriving situation, asafetybenefit • Frontseatpassengersreduceriskofcrashing by 38%comparedtocellphoneconversations • Adultswithpassengershavelowercrash ratesthanadultswithoutpassengers – Nottruefornoviceteendrivers

nsc. org Prevention. Steps • Widespreadeducation • Corporatecellphonebans • Legislation • Lawenforcement • Technology

nsc. org Downloadthe. NSCWhite. Paper nsc. org

nsc. org Morethan 1. 6 millioncrashesare causedbycellphoneuseandtexting whiledrivingeachyear.

nsc. org Countlesslives havebeenlostasaresult. Joe, 12 Bailey, Merideth, Hannah, Saraand. Katie Cady, 16 Erica, 9 Jeanand. Jay, 58 Linda, 61 Jason, 38 Lauren, 17 Matt, 25 Frances, 13 Jordan,

nsc. org Helpussavelives. Telleveryoneyouknow. Onthe. Road, Offthe. Phone