Apparently no one in the California state government bothers to read scientific research, or they’d know that requiring drivers to use headsets or speakerphones instead of holding a handset does nothing to improve your driving.

Starting July 1, anyone caught using a handset while driving in California will face a minimum fine of $97. Drivers under the age of 18 will be forbidden entirely from using cellphones while driving, regardless of whether they’re on a headset or other hands-free device.

Believe it or not, the harsher law for teens actually makes much more sense.

While we react emotionally to the image of the distracted driver with a phone glued to his ear, and using a Bluetooth headset, for example, seems like it should be much less dangerous, the truth is that the mere act of speaking to another person while driving is what causes the distraction, not holding the handset.

From a study I linked to on the tech blog last month:

[Psychologist David Strayer of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City] and his colleagues have documented steep declines in simulated driving skill, as well as a marked drop in driving speed, among volunteers using handheld or hands-free cell phones. (emphasis added)

Banning the use of phones completely while driving is the only way to improve safety. Of course, then the state might as well ban listening to music, eating breakfast or looking at a map while driving, since I suspect those are all just as distracting as yapping on a phone.

Personally, I can’t wait until self-driving cars are here, and then I can nap, watch a movie or pack a picnic for my commute to work.

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 12:23 pm and is filed under General News.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.