In a recent thread I stated “Even using a hands free phone is somewhat similar to being on the alcohol limit.”
Andy B replied “13ollocks”.
When I asked Andy B “Could you please substantiate your comment.”, citing two research papers which supported my position, he responded “No .... Lies, damned lies & statistics.” The thread was subsequently locked so I sent Andy B a PM with the web address so he could download the report for himself and said I would start a new discussion.
One report I cited is by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory and is entitled
How dangerous is driving with a mobile phone? Benchmarking the impairment to alcohol (see
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259258482_How_Dangerous_is_Driving_with_a_Mobile_Phone_Benchmarking_the_Impairment_to_Alcohol).
I took this from the report Executive Summary and sorted and bulleted the points. Everything is a direct quote from the report.
This study aimed to quantify the impairment from Handsfree and Hand-held phone conversations in relation to the decline in driving performance caused by alcohol impairment.
Using a phone is worse than driving with 80mg/ml alcohol- … drivers had significantly poorer speed control when using the Hand-held phone than during the other three conditions [including driving with 80 mg/100ml].
- Reaction times were significantly slower for drivers using phones in comparison to when they had alcohol.
- Results showed a tendency for drivers to slow down when talking on Hand-held or Hands-free phones, even when they were specifically instructed to maintain a set speed. [unable to follow instructions] .
- … drivers missed significantly more warnings when they were using a phone.
- There was [sic] also significantly fewer warnings missed by the drivers when they were on alcohol in comparison to when they were using the Hands-free phones. [ie even hands free is worse than driving with 80mg/100ml alcohol]
- The phone drivers were also responding to the wrong warnings more often than the alcohol drivers (false alarms).
- From the subjective mental effort ratings participants made immediately after driving each route, it was clear that they found driving while using a Hand-held phone to be the most difficult.
- … certain aspects of driving performance are impaired more by using a phone than by having a blood alcohol level at the legal limit (80mg/ 100ml).
Driving with 80mg/ml alcohol is worse than using a phone- ... drivers drove faster than normal when under the influence of alcohol. [and unable to follow instructions]
- When drivers were under the influence of alcohol, they were significantly worse at driving smoothly (standard deviation of lane position) than during the other three conditions.
It is concluded that driving behaviour while talking on a phone is not only worse than normal driving, it can also be described as dangerous. Although
using phones while driving ... can be considered as irresponsible and dangerous, this behaviour is common. Drivers need to be strongly discouraged from engaging in any phone use while behind the wheel.
I fail to see why that is "13ollocks" but perhaps Andy B will join the discussion and tell us why he believes it is "13ollocks"