Logically, it would seem that hands-free devices are safer to use while driving, especially when compared to texting. When you’re texting, you have your hands off the wheel and your eyes off the road. Hands-free driving only uses your voice, so it’s safer right? Wrong.
Mental Distraction
Talking on the phone is a mental distraction. It delays response times by a significant amount. Studies have shown that it doesn’t matter if you are physically using the phone or not. Listening to the phone, processing that information, and then speaking on the phone can decrease the brain’s ability to process images by up to 1/3. It can cause drivers to overlook up to 50% of their surroundings! How many accidents would you get into if you only saw half of the cars on the road? The Mythbusters have done a study concerning this and have obtained the same results.
Safer than Talking to Passengers?
Is talking on a hand-free device safer than talking to passengers in the car? After all, you’re still holding a conversation and you may take your eyes off the road to look at the other person. Actually, it is much safer to talk to someone else in your vehicle. This is because a passenger provides an extra set of eyes. They will also be watching the road and can alert the driver to possible hazards.
The bottom line is that hands-free devices are no safer to use while driving than physically texting on your phone. Many studies have even shown that texting or talking on the phone is more dangerous than drunk driving! Refrain from using phones at any time while driving. Whatever you need your phone for, it can wait. If you or a loved one has been in an accident caused by another’s distracted driving, you may need to seek legal representation. Contact us at LeBaron & Jensen today!
