RoSPA Press Office : Press Release
February 25, 1999
NEW RESEARCH LINKS MOBILE PHONES WITH ROAD ACCIDENTS
New research for The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents indicates that using a mobile phone while driving greatly increases the risk of having an accident.
The study, carried out by the Psychology Department at Aston University, shows that the danger exists whether the phone is hand-held or hands-free, and whether the car is manual or automatic transmission.
It also confirms that the danger remains in the minutes after a phone call has finished.
RoSPA says the research strengthens fears about mobiles being used while at the wheel. At least six road deaths have been linked to mobile phones in Great Britain, and the Society believes mobile phones are likely to have been involved in thousands of other accidents. RoSPA wants the use of mobile phones banned while motorists are actually driving.
The new research, to be discussed at RoSPA’s National Road Safety Congress next week, was carried out using a driving simulator. Motorists were tested with all possible combinations of hand-held and hands-free phones and manual and automatic transmission cars. It is the first study to do this.
No matter what the combination, the drivers were shown to be less responsive to road and traffic conditions when on the phone. They "tailgated" other vehicles, greatly increasing the probability of a collision.
Heart rates increased during phone conversations, indicating an increase in stress levels. Psychologists have established that drivers under stress are more likely to have an accident. Other studies show the majority of calls undertaken by drivers on a mobile are "intense, complex, business-related and urgent".
RoSPA Road Safety Adviser, Dave Rogers, said: "The tests we used in the conversations showed that using a hands-free phone was no less distracting than using a hand-held phone. There is no basis to claim one system is safer than the other. It is the distraction of the conversation rather than the mechanics of using the phone that poses the real problem."
