Ergonomics Canada 2008 - (Page 7) Truth or Consequences of Distracted Driving In late May this year, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty explained that a string of fatal collisions involving cell phone use while driving has caused him to revisit the issue of a total ban of electronic devices while behind the wheel. Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Québec have already banned the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. For more on cell phone use while driving, take the Driving Distraction IQ challenge below. While cell phone use is one driving distraction, there are many others. In fact, distracted driving is becoming an increasing concern. The Traffic Injury Research Foundation reports that 70% of individuals surveyed in 2006 believe distracted driving is a serious problem compared to 40% in 200111. By Margo Fraser, M.Sc., CCPE Next Steps? Dr. Christina Rudin-Brown of the Ergonomics and Crash Avoidance Division of Road Safety at Transport Canada suggests that banning hand held cell phones may have, “a secondary benefit of creating a societal awareness and acknowledgement of the potential negative effects of driver distraction from cell phones. However, banning the use of all cell phones (and other telematics or “info-tainment” devices) while driving would likely have an even more significant effect.” Until this happens, it is likely to be left to company policy, and to us as drivers, to make responsible decisions for creating a safe driving environment. Driving Distraction IQ Challenge Answer True or False or Inconclusive. See Answers below. 1. There is the same risk of collision when talking on a cell phone as when legally intoxicated (blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% weight/volume)? 2. The risk of collision is greater when talking on a hand-held cell phone than while using a hands-free device? 3. Cell phones are one of the most common driving distractions? 4. Talking to a passenger is less risky than talking on a cell phone? Note: there are no marks for right or wrong, but the more you answer correctly, the better! What is Distracted Driving? Distracted driving is a general term given to attention being focused on a task that is not related to the primary task of driving. Each of us has a fixed amount of capacity in our “attention bucket” so the more we put on nondriving tasks, the less we have left for the task of driving. Therefore, the more engaging or mentally complex the attention requirements of a conversation, response required to an electronic device or other situation, the less attention we can give to driving3,7,8,9. Other distractions can be visual or physical. Visual distractions occur when we take our eyes off of the road such as when dialing a cell phone, text messaging, reading a map or searching through CDs. Physical distractions occur when we are performing an action that takes our hand(s) off the wheel, lean or turn our bodies (turning to check a child in the back seat, eating or drinking, among others) so that we are not in an optimal position to respond to an unanticipated event. When drivers are visually distracted, their vehicles tend to drift to one side of the road, potentially into the next lane4. As new technologies continue to be introduced to vehicles, designers will need to carefully consider the attention, and visual and physical demands required by these devices7. Answers: Question 1 – True A four times greater risk of collision has been found when using a cell phone, regardless of whether it is hand held or hands free, which is the equivalent risk found for drivers who are legally drunk (blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% weight/volume)8,9. Question 2 – False Researchers at the University of Calgary combined data from a number of studies and found that conversing on a cell phone while driving was found to slow reaction time by an average of 0.25 seconds for both Association of Canadian Ergonomists • Association canadienne d’ergonomie 7
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