Is talking while driving as bad as drunk driving?

A study from 2006 concluded that talking on a cell phone (with AND without holding the phone) is as dangerous as driving after drinking alcohol.¹Strayer, D. L., Drews, F. A., & Crouch, D. J. (2006). A comparison of the cell phone driver and the drunk driver. Human factors: The journal of the human factors and ergonomics society, 48(2), 381-391.

CONCLUSION

Claim: Using a cell phone while driving can be as bad as driving drunk.

While drinking and talking do not have the same effects on driving, both activities cause more accidents and near accidents than driving without alcohol or cell phones.

EVIDENCE

Drinking and Talking Comparisons

The most well-known and often cited study was completed in 2006. Using a driving simulator, the researchers compared the performance of drivers talking on the phone with those who were intoxicated (having a blood alcohol level of .08).²Strayer, D. L., Drews, F. A., & Crouch, D. J. (2006). A comparison of the cell phone driver and the drunk driver. Human factors: The journal of the human factors and ergonomics society, 48(2), 381-391.

 

Alcohol tended to make drivers follow other cars more closely and brake harder.

Talking on a phone caused more accidents and drivers reacted slower.

The Results

Name	Baseline	Alcohol	Cell Phone
Total accidents	0	0	3
Brake reaction time	777ms	779ms	849ms
Maximum braking force	56.7	69.8	55.5
Speed	55.5	52.8	53.8
Mean following distance	27.4m	26m	28.4m
SD following distance	9.5m	10.3m	11.8m
Time to collision	8.5s	8s	8.1s
Time to collision < 4s	1.5	3	1.9
Half recovery time	5.3	5.4	6.3

Another study compared hands-free cell phones to drivers with a blood alcohol level of .04-.05. This study also found that both groups drove differently than the control group, with slower reaction times and decreased peripheral vision.³Hands-free mobile phone conversation impairs the peripheral visual system to an extent comparable to an alcohol level of 4–5 g 100 ml

Holding a conversation while driving reduces the peripheral visual field. The same effects can be observed in persons under a low-dose of alcohol and in both cases the effect is enhanced when the individual also has limited driving experience.

Comparing cell phone use, other distractions (changing the radio, fan, air conditioning) and alcohol use in another study, found that cell phones and the other distractions were actually more impairing than being intoxicated at the legal limit (.08).⁴Rakauskas, M., & Ward, N. (2005). Driving Performance During Cell Phone Conversations and Common In-Vehicle Tasks While Sober and Drunk.

How Many Drinks Are We Talking About?

Stand-alone Cell Phone Studies

The studies that compared driving after drinking to cell phone only used about 100 participants total. There are however a few dozen more studies that researched just cell phone use.

Cell phone use causes users to accelerate differently, drive slower and cause more accidents than without talking on a phone.⁶Rakauskas, M. E., Gugerty, L. J., & Ward, N. J. (2004). Effects of naturalistic cell phone conversations on driving performance. Journal of safety research,35(4), 453-464.⁷Caird, J. K., Willness, C. R., Steel, P., & Scialfa, C. (2008). A meta-analysis of the effects of cell phones on driver performance. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 40(4), 1282-1293.

The National Safety Council (NSC) estimates that 21% of crashes in 2011 involved handheld and hands-free cell phones. They claim that cell phones are not reported accurately as the cause of accidents for a variety of reasons.⁸Eddy, N. (2013). Mobile Distraction Underreported as Cause of Car Accidents. Eweek, 8. NSC’s estimating model is not real clear, but they do make a good point that the official data could be wrong since the numbers are insanely different per state. ⁹(2013). Crashes Involving Cell Phones Challenges of Collecting and Reporting Reliable Crash Data. National Safety Council.

Tennessee reported 71 fatal crashes involving cell phones in 2010 and 93 in 2011. However, states with much larger populations of drivers reported far fewer crashes involving cell phones. New York reported 10 such crashes in 2010 and one in 2011.

Handheld vs Hands-Free Cell Phone Use

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a big difference between holding a cell phone and using a hands-free version.

One study pointed out that California’s ban on hand-held cell phone calls didn’t seem to have an impact on reducing traffic accidents.¹⁰Burger, N. E., Kaffine, D. T., & Yu, B. (2013). Did California’s hand-held cell phone ban reduce accidents? (No. 2013-08). Another study pointed out possible issues with the first study, but reached a similar conclusion.

Another study noted that hands-free laws did impact traffic fatalities, but only in bad weather.¹¹Kolko, J. D. (2009). The effects of mobile phones and hands-free laws on traffic fatalities. The BE Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 9(1).

Contrary Evidence

If it were only that easy. Since there were so much credible information on the impact of talking on a phone while driving, it seemed clear that cell phones are a distraction. One study did report an opposing study. This research states, “The impact of cell phone use on risk for the population, based on accident-only samples, may be overstated by about one-third.” The theory is that previous research didn’t account for drivers who use phones, but are inherently less safe, even without talking on the phone. ¹²Hahn, R. W., & Prieger, J. E. (2006). The impact of driver cell phone use on accidents. The BE Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 6(1).

While some prior reports might have overestimated accidents caused by talking on the phone, this study doesn’t account for the driving simulations that clearly demonstrate how cell phones can impair drivers.