However When Used By Motor Vehicle Drivers ... That Driver. Distraction Was Contributing Factor in 20 to 30 % ... Driving Caused 2297 Accidents in 1997.
SAFETY IMPLICATIONS OF USING MOBILE WHILE MOBILE BY
Dr. Neelima Chakrabarty
No Mobile When Mobile Cell Phone Now Not A Rich Man’s Fashion
Accessory in India Barely A Decade Ago Even Landlines Were A Luxury Now In 2004 , 45 Million People Possessed Mobile Phones As Compared to 44 Million Landline Owners
CELL PHONE USE WHILE DRIVING CAN BE HAZARDOUS Over the recent years the use of cell phones has risen quite rapidly. Though they in many ways improve our lives and are extremely
convenient, the use of cell phones while driving has increased accident rates in the past years. People are getting careless on concentration while driving because they are operating phones at the same time. Cell
phones should be banned from usage while driving to prevent further accidents and save lives.
Cell Phone Technology Introduces New Sense Of Speed And Connectivity To Social Life Low Income People Now Adopt Cell Phones As A Tool For Enhancing Their Productivity Cell Phones Add Convenience
However When Used By Motor Vehicle Drivers While Driving Or By Pedestrians While Walking, They Cause Many Road Accidents.
Cell Phone – Both A Responsibility And A
Privilege People Need To Learn How To Use It Safely To Maximize The Benefits Adequate Awareness Is To Be Created Among The Cell Phone Users To Help Them Recognize Hazards That Could Lead To Accidents , Disabilities And Deaths
ROAD USER DISTRACTION DUE TO CELL-PHONE USE DRIVER SKILLS NEEDED Cognitive Skills- Perception , Identification, Emotion And Volition (PIEV) Physical Skills-visual, Auditory And Bio-mechanical
SKILLS REQUIRED FOR CELLPHONE USAGE • VISUAL-Locating Correct Buttons,scanning screen • AUDITORY- Listening To Conversation • BIOMECHANICAL-Pressing Buttons,holding Phones • COGNITIVE- Thought Processes During Engaging in Conversation SO WHATEVER SKILLS A DRIVER REQUIRES TO USE FOR HIS DRIVING TASK ARE DIVERTED TO USE THE CELL PHONE
Types of Distraction 1. Visual 2. Auditory 3. Physical 4. Cognitive
Stay Focused Keep Your Mind on the Road
PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF CELLPHONE USE WHILE DRIVING Allowing Cell-phone Operations While Driving Negatively Affect In The Process Of Information Processing And Decision –
Making . It Significantly Degrades Driving Performance Neurological Study By Just In 2001 Concluded That When People Try To Perform Two Demanding Tasks (E.G.Driving And Talking On A Cell)they Do Neither Task Well
Parks And Hooijmeiher (2000)reported That
Drivers Reacted Significantly More Slowly To An Unexpected Event During A Telephone Conversation. Another Study Reported A Delayed Reaction Times In A Mockup Of Braking When Participants Were Engaged In A Wireless Telephone Conversation
Research Studies On Linkage Of Cell Phone Use 8 Road Crashes Benefits Of Cell – Phone Use
• Telephones in Cars Save Lives by
Giving Immediate Access to Emergency Services , Police and Other Assistance. • Enable Drivers to Call for Help in the Event of a Breakdown ,Report Drunk Drivers Auto Accidents and Criminal Activities.
Violanti (1998) Studied 223137 Crashes Between
1992 and 1997 and Found Nine –Fold Increase in Risk of Fatalities Associated With Mobile Phone Use. NHTSA (2001) USA Survey Found That Driver Distraction Was Contributing Factor in 20 to 30 % of All Crashes One in Four( 26%) Drivers Reported Improvement in a Crash During the Past Five Years.
Naval Safety Center (2002) in a Survey of 837
Drivers With Cell Phones Found That Almost Half Swerved or Drifted Into Another Lane, 23% Tailgated,21% Cut off Someone and 18% Nearly Hit Another Vehicle While Using the Phone. National Police Agency of Japan Found That Japanese Drivers Using Cell Phones During Driving Caused 2297 Accidents in 1997.
Survey Of Cell Phone Usage By Drivers in India Macro 2004 Study in Mumbai One of the Objective Was to Study the Habits of
Using Mobile Phone While Driving Among the Youths Maximum Usage of Cell Phone Was Found Below the Age Group of 24 Years 67% of the Respondents Had Habit to Stroll on Road While Talking Over the Mobile Phone
Cell Phone Usage While Driving in Delhi Opinion Survey on Mobile Phone Usage Was Conducted in July 2004 (226 Car Drivers) Around 84% Respondents Were Having the Cell Phones and Amongst Them One Fifth (21%) Used the Cell Phone “Often” While
Driving and 58% “Sometimes.” SMS Was Stated to Be Less Prevalent As Only 9.5 % Respondents Reported Doing SMS “Often” and 27% “Sometimes”
OWNERSHIP AND USE OF CELL PHONE WHILE DRIVING (%) Owner ship
Receiving Call
SMS
Often
Sometime s
Neve r
Ofte n
Sometime s
Neve r
21
37
42
9
27
64
84
Ownership of Cell Phones Was Higher With
Women Drivers As Compared to Male Drivers(98% Vs. 79%) Use of Cell Phones Was More Common With Male Drivers As Compared to Female Drivers but Lady Drivers Were Doing More SMS. Drivers With Lower Education Level Were Using Cell Phones or Doing SMS More Frequently Than Drivers With Higher Education Level
Sex-Wise Use Of Cell Phones (Frequency)
40
Responses
Never
38
52
Sometimes
24
31
Often
10
0
10
20
30
40
Percentage Response
50
60 Male Female
Ownership and Use of Cell phone According to Education Level Own Use of Cell Phone Educati er Ofte Some Neve on level ship n times r
SMS
Ofte Some Nev n times er
Upto Matricul ate
78
37
32
31
13
31
56
12th Standar d
68
37
37
37
10
37
53
Graduat es
95
20
55
55
13
22
67
Post Graduat es
91
18
35
35
8
17
75
• The Use of Cell Phone Was Higher With Business
Group , Commercial Drivers and House Wives – 30% of Them Using “Never” in Comparison to 45% Among Service Class. • Though Ownership of Cell –Phone Was Higher With Novice Drivers ,However It’s Use Was More With Experienced Drivers. • The Use of Cell Phone Amongst Age Group 25 Years Was More Also .They Were Doing More SMS As Only 23 % Reported Using Phone “Never” As Compared to 32% for Older Groups.
Driving Exposure Wise Cell Phone Ownership
82
94
79
88 81
>2Yrs 2-5 Yrs. 5-10 Yrs. 10-20 Yrs. > 20 Yrs.
Cell Phone Usage By Fellow Drivers as a Source Of Distraction 50% of the Drivers Interviewed Felt That Their Safety Was Jeopardized by the Use of Cell Phones by the Fellow Drivers in the Traffic
Stream People Felt That Use of Cell Phone and Change
of CD’s or Cassettes Were More Distracting in Comparison to Other Activities As 59% Drivers Noticed Fellow Drivers Using Their Cell Phones “Often”
HAND-HELD VERSUS HAND-FREE PHONES Some People Feel That Hand-free Cell Phones Are Not Distracting and Hence Safe to Use While Driving. Research Studies Show It Is a Myth Talking on Cell Phone While Driving Was So Mentally Distracting That It Was More Dangerous Than Driving When Slightly Over the BAC Limit (Burch,2002 U.K Stud.) Reaction Times With Cell Phones Were 30% Worse Than When They Were Border Line Intoxicated Whether Hand Free or Hand Held Also Missed Many Road Signs
Ways in which cell phones can cause accidents Driver Can Become
Distracted With the Conversation The Total Focus Is Not Centered on the Road Incorrect Driving Position Slower Reaction Time Stressful Conversation Could Cause Sudden Irrational Decisions
NHTSA, 1997 Study Showed That
Driver Performance Is Particularly Affected in Maintaining the Correct Lane Position and the Headway Between Two Vehicles Traveling One Behind the Other,in Keeping to an Appropriate Speed and in Judging and Accepting Safe Gaps in the Traffic. Driver Reaction Times Increased by 0.5-1.5 Seconds When Talking Into a Mobile Phone (Nilsson,1994)
The Phone Conversation Direct Attention Away From the External Environment Towards an Internal,cognitive Context Associated With It. Goodman Et.Al(1994) Argue That the Perceived Improvement in Safety Due to Hands-free Phone May Also Convince Previous Nonusers to Use Cell Phones While Driving.
CELL PHONES USAGE BY TWOWHEELER RIDERS Common Sight in India –Two Wheeler Rider With a Heavy Load Tied or More Than One Passenger on the Rear Seat,with Only One
Hand Balancing the Vehicle, the Other Hand Holding a Mobile and the Driver Keenly Engrossed in the Conversation.
Driver Usually Loosen Their Helmet Strips and Raise the Helmets Over Ears to Listen to Cell Phones
LEGISLATION ON CELL PHONE USE WHILE DRIVING Some People State That to Legally Prohibit Cell
Phones Infringes on the Personal Rights of Motorists. However, Public Safety Advocates Link Cell Phones Use B Driver to Numerous Fatal Automobile Accidents.So Banning of Cell Phone Driving Has to Be Seen in That Perspective
Interesting Facts
Twenty-two states in the United States are currently considering legislation
to ban cell phone use while driving. New York has passed a law to ban handheld cell phones while driving. The New England Journal of Medicine in 1997, reported that drivers using cellular phones are four times more likely to crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is calling for a public education campaign about the dangers of using cell phones while driving.
GLOBAL SITUATION REGARDING BAN OF CELL PHONE USAGE WHILE DRIVING Countries Like Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland,
Norway, Italy, Poland, South Korea, Etc. Have Banned the Use of Cell Phone While Driving and the Fine Imposed Various From As High As US $1000 (Poland) to US $47(south Korea). In Countries Like Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K, Malaysia, Russia, Pakistan, Japan, Netherlands, South AfricaThough It Has Been Banned, the Amount of Fine Is Not Specified. Drivers in U.K and Germany Can Lose Their Automobile Insurance Coverage If They Cause a Crash While Using Cell Phone .
In Delhi There Is Fine of Rs.1000
SAFTEY TIPS FOR USING CELL PHONE Pull off the Road and Stop in a Safe Place Before Using Your Phone. When the Phone Rings in Traffic, Let It Ring-
use Voice Mail or Even Miss a Call. Never Take Notes Or Write Down Numbers While Driving. Don’t Engage in Stressful Conversation. Always Observe the Traffic Conditions Before Making or Receiving a Call. In Case You Have a Co-passengers, Let Him Handle the Calls. No Mobile When Mobile
Help to Prevent Cell phone Related Accidents Pull over when talking
Get somebody else to
talk Get voicemail If you must talk get a
hands free device
CONCLUSIONS Life Cannot Be Imagined Without the Cell
Phone. Research Studies All Over the World Have Indicated That Use of Cell-phone Whether Hand-free or Hand-held While Driving Is Quite Risky. Though Legislation Is There to Ban Cell Phone While Driving (Delhi Rs1000 Fine), Need Is to Educate Road Users. Cell Phones, If Used Wisely,are a Valuable Safety Aid In Emergencies, Otherwise Becomes A Safety Hazard.
The End! Thanks for listening!
