Samira wrote:
You're more distracted than you think you are. According to a recent study you're so distracted when talking on the phone even with a head set that your reflexes are significantly slowed.
Unless there's been a new study released, that's not quite correct. Lots of "new" articles and papers have been written about this, but most of them are still using older, and honestly flawed, testing methods. Testing distraction levels in a simulator (or some other reaction test) is not going to provide an accurate result. Anything which is "new" to the person taking the test will be a distraction. Adding several of them at once multiplies the effect.
In a 2005 NHTSA test, the biggest distraction for the test subjects was actually wearing a headset. They were constantly fiddling with the supposedly "hands free" device. And in a simulator with which they are not familiar.
I'll make the same statement I made the last time this subject came up. Have people drive their cars on a test course. Not a simulator. Not a test car they've never driven before. Their own cars. Have 50 people who own their own headsets (or have bluetooth in their cars) run the test at various speeds or difficulties. Have 50 other people who use their phones manually do the same. Record the difference. If you want, have a control group which does neither of these things. Do this test many times with different groups of people.
This way you're actually testing how a largish set of people will actually be able to react to real situations they'll encounter while driving (but with cones and foam rubber obstacles instead of real ones). Do this, and I guarantee you that you'll find a dramatic difference between those who drive hands free and those who don't. Once you get used to a handsfree device, it's no more distracting than talking to someone next to you. No amount of being used to talking will eliminate the fact that you take your eyes off the road to dial, and have one hand tied up talking when using a set manually.
Oh. And that's one of the more recent ones. Most of the older "hands free" tests did not use bluetooth headsets or systems, but used the old wired dohickies. So people were often holding the microphone, or fiddling with the wires. Newer sets, once you get used to them, are pretty distraction free.