New research from the University of Utah has revealed a
potentially lethal "tunnel vision" that drivers get while talking
on a cellphone.
Researchers found that drivers using cellphones, even hands-
free devices, aren't processing peripheral vision well. The
scientists studied twenty volunteers who used a driving
simulator to experience all sorts of distractions, from cars
suddenly swerving to a stoplight changing. In one test, a driver
on a phone and one focused solely on the road were shown the
same series of billboards. The driver not yakking remembered
seeing 50 percent more billboards than the driver on the phone,
the study found.
Associate professor David Strayer said this is "inattention
blindness," an impairment that slows reaction time by 20
percent and made some drive-and-dial practitioners miss half
the red lights they were suddenly presented with in some
simulations.
"We found that when people are on the phone, the amount of
information they are taking in is significantly reduced," he said
of the study, the results of which will be published in the March
edition of the American Psychology Association's Journal of
Experimental Society: Applied. "People were missing things, like
cars swerving in front or sudden lane changes. We had at least
three rear-end collisions."
The study is among many investigations into the effects of
driving and using a cellphone. Most have shown some
impairment. New York is the only state with laws punishing
those who drive while talking on a handheld cellphone. Thirty
states, though, have legislation pending.
Another study from General Motors and Wayne State
University is investigating how much emotion has to do with it.
Researchers from GM and the university's medical school will
use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with virtual reality
driving simulations for the first time.
The Utah study differed from others because it didn't study
the distractions of dialing or holding a phone. Instead, it tried to
focus solely on the distractions of having a conversation,
Strayer said.
"Most people's knee-jerk reaction is that the cellphone is
held, and there is clearly a distraction involved in that," he said.