Safety Stand Down Toolbox Talk – Cellphone Use While Driving

Safety Stand Down Introduction:  There is an urgent need for workplace safety. The ripple effect of injuries is devastating to family, co-workers, and the company.  Why discuss the hazards of cellphone use while driving? Driving remains the leading cause of death in our industry and in vehicle distractions are multiple. Cellphone use while driving is one of the many distractions and is very dangerous. It’s mentally demanding, driver’s reaction time to hazards is very poor, and it reduces the driver’s field of view.

Safety Stand Down Why are cellphones mentally demanding? Why do they increase driver’s reaction time to hazards and why do they reduce the driver’s field of view? There are four types of driving distraction:  VISUAL – Looking for the cellphone.  BIOMECHANICAL – Manipulating a device, such as dialing a phone number, or for those users of PDAs, formulating an response.

Safety Stand Down  AUDITORY – Being startled by a ringing cellphone.  COGNITIVE – Mind not on the task, thinking about something other than driving.  HANDS FREE cellphones reduce VISUAL and BIOMECHANICAL distractions; however, they do nothing for the other two. More importantly, they do nothing for the COGNITIVE distraction. This being the most important task – concentrating on driving.

Safety Stand Down Why cellphone conversations are mentally demanding:  Cellphone users visualize or create in their minds an image of the person being spoken to. This takes mental effort and undermines the cognitive work of interpreting the driving environment.  When you are engaged in a cellphone conversation, you have to listen to the other person, think about what they are saying, and plan your response. This takes away some resources which you would otherwise have applied towards driving.

Safety Stand Down  Cellphone drivers are trapped by social etiquette that will not let them drop, discontinue, or be unresponsive in cellphone conversations.  Social conventions and habits govern expectations of how long we pause, how we respond, vocal tones and inflections, appropriate placement and expression of nonverbal cues (uh huh, um, oh, etc.), and levels of interest and engagement expressed.  Stressful, emotional or important conversations are even more demanding, but even the mundane conversations will remove your concentration from the task of driving.

Safety Stand Down Why cellphones increase drivers reaction time to hazards: Studies have shown that drivers engaged in cellphone conversations:  Are four times more likely to crash than other drivers.  Pose a risk comparable to alcohol impaired driving at 0.1 BAC – That’s above the legal limit of Canada of 0.8.  Significantly have poorer driving performance whether measured by speed control, following distance or reaction time.  A major study has been performed by University of Utah (Psychology Professor David Strayer 2001).

Safety Stand Down Results:  Reaction time while driving and using a cellphone is worse than the reaction time when driving under the influence. (Of course, neither is acceptable practice. The difference is that only one is currently against the law).  The driver using a cellphone has travelled 14m longer than a driver with normal reaction.  Drivers take longer to react to the traffic signals. They are twice as likely to miss a traffic signal when they are talking on the cellphone.  Although hands free telephones reduce manual and visual distractions, cognitive distractions are still present.

Safety Stand Down Why cellphone use while driving reduces your field of view:  Eye-movement of drivers using cellphones is reduced to tunnel vision because they are concentrating on the conversation.  Research also found that the tunnel vision caused by cellphone use continued well after the conversation ends. Perhaps because the driver is still thinking about the conversation.  The study found that most drivers seldom glance away from the road when talking on the cellphone. You should move your eyes every two seconds to avoid tunnel vision.

Safety Stand Down Responsibilities as a driver:  Never take a phone call while driving.  Allow passenger or voice mail box to take the message.  In an emergency, pull well off the road to receive or send phone calls.

Safety Stand Down Responsibilities as a caller:  Ask if they are driving  End the conversation if you suspect they are driving

Safety Stand Down Conclusion What can I do to help?  Make the decision to stop and tell others as well. It starts with you as an individual and you need to modify your behaviour. Like any other habit, it will take time to change.  “You’ll survive a missed phone call, but you might not survive a collision.” – Transport Canada