Mobile Phone Use and Driving: Modelling Driver Distraction Effects

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Limiting the Reaction Time
Ability to Drive without Cell Phones
Legislation
Conclusion
Annotated Bibliography
Works Cited

Introduction

These days, statistics of car crashes even per one day is scary, and this type of vehicle is perceived the most dangerous, comparing to other options. Therefore, cases of car crashes and behavior leading to such catastrophes are actively explored by modern scientists in order to promote driving safety. Hot debates arose around the question of using hand-held cell phones while driving, as it may involve risks of car crash occurrence (Oviedo-Trespalacios et al.; Papadimitriou et al.). Taking this fact into consideration, it is worth prohibiting hand-held cell phone use while driving in all 50 states in the United States.

Limiting the Reaction Time

First of all, communicating via hand-held cell phone at the moment of driving a car may be extremely dangerous, increasing the likelihood of a car crash. While holding a gadget in one hand, a person controls the movement of a vehicle only by one hand. Consequently, an individual is not ready to respond to unexpected situations on the road, such as slipping on ice or a pedestrian in an inappropriate place.

Moreover, the fact that a driver is conversating or listening to a speaker may aggravate the situation, diverting their attention from the road. Choudhary and Velaga (“Modelling Driver Distraction Effects”) marked: “in case of pedestrian crossing event…simple conversation, complex conversation, simple texting and complex texting caused 40%, 95%, 137% and 204% increment in the reaction times” (para. 1). They also highlighted: “in case of road crossing event by parked vehicles, the tasks caused 48%, 65%, 121% and 171% increment in reaction times respectively” (Choudhary and Velaga “Modelling Driver Distraction Effects” para. 1). This problem was also researched by these scientists further, examining effects on speed and effectiveness of compensatory driver behavior. They claim: “the logistic models for accident probabilities showed that the accident probabilities increased by 3 and 4 times respectively when the drivers were conversing or texting on the phone during the driving” (Choudhary and Velaga “Mobile Phone Use during Driving” para. 1). Therefore, in order to increase attention during driving and improve the reaction to road events, it is advisable to prohibiting hand-held phone use while driving in all 50 states.

Ability to Drive without Cell Phones

Arguing against this prohibition, a large number of people claim that mobile phones have become an integral part of the modern world and modern lifestyle, and it is impossible to limit their use while driving. However, in the recent past, people did not struggle to drive cars without the help of these gadgets. In general, life has not changed considerably enough so that people could not control a vehicle without mobile phones. Therefore, their personal liberty will not be restricted to a large extent.

Furthermore, it should be taken into consideration that individuals tend to use mobile phones without necessity. For instance, George et al. (2018) have conducted a study in this regard and revealed that frequently drivers use their gadgets for entertainment purposes. They may turn on and switch music and text or answer messages. Shi et al. investigated this topic as well, and even though their study depicts that people attempt to use mobiles phones only in case of necessity, in fact, they may misuse this possibility. Therefore, applying mobile phones while driving in the majority of cases is not urgent and essential, and banning them will not cause significant ordeals. Moreover, it will decrease the reasons to distract from the road, promoting driving safety.

Legislation

The current laws are not appropriate for controlling mobile use while driving. Driving with a lack of carefulness and attention is difficult to be proven. However, it creates a potential danger on the road, causing health risks both for the car owner and road users. The likelihood of rapid response to unexpected events significantly decreases as people became less focused on road events. Thus, there is a need to introduce new laws on more attentive driving in order to prevent possible offenses. Moreover, it will motivate people to have a more careful attitude to their behavior on the roads. Appropriate legislation will be effective, as billing records will demonstrate if a mobile phone was applied at a particular moment. In addition, today, all the cities are equipped with cameras, which identify the drivers, which exceed the speed limits and break other safety rules. Consequently, these cameras may be improved for indicating the personality of people who use hand-held mobile phones while driving.

The positive outcome of the prohibition of hand-held mobile phone use was researched by modern scientists. Liu, Lu, et al. state: “The ban was found effective in reducing the cellphone usage-caused crashes in terms of both crash frequency and crash proportion (para. 1). In general, this measure improved the safety on roads in California (Liu, Lu, et al. para. 3) However, it is vital to take into consideration possible situations, which will require people to make an urgent phone call or answer text messages immediately. In this context, it is recommended to stop a vehicle and park it in order to use a mobile phone or have a conversation. Such a measure will contribute to making traffic safer and allow people to cope with their urgent problems without risks. Summing up the ideas of legislation, all the objections to the inability to follow it are not relevant. There is sufficient equipment to implement monitoring mobile phones used by drivers. Furthermore, they have an option for urgent situations, which require their interference. Therefore, there are no obstacles to prohibiting hand-held mobile phone use while driving across the United States.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it should be mentioned that prohibiting hand-held mobile phone use driving in all 50 states is worth realizing. It will reduce the number of accidents on roads, as this action is associated with higher risks of car crashes. In addition, refusal to use mobile phones while driving will not be an ordeal to the population, as they predominantly apply it for entertainment purposes. Finally, currently, sufficient technologies exist for controlling drivers breaking this prohibition.

Annotated Bibliography

Choudhary, Pushpa, and Nagendra Velaga. “Modelling Driver Distraction Effects due to Mobile Phone Use on Reaction Time.” Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, vol. 77, 2017, pp. 351-365.

Choudhary and Velaga are scientists, who are deeply engaged in the problem of mobile phone use while driving and finding appropriate responses to these problems, and for this reason, they have published a number of studies in this regard. In the current article, they explore the reaction time changes in modeled situations, which required drivers to distract. The events were divided into two categories: a pedestrian crossing the street and a parked vehicle crossing the road. Moreover, the participants were offered to complete four types of tasks: having a simple and complex dialogue and texting a simple and complex message. The experiment revealed that the more complex the task was, the more distracted the drivers were, which posed considerable safety threats. Mobile phone use significantly delayed the reaction time to road events, increasing the likelihood of car accidents. Therefore, the authors present sufficient reasoning for proposing a prohibition of hand-held mobile phone use while driving.

“Mobile Phone Use during Driving: Effects on Speed and Effectiveness of Driver Compensatory Behaviour.” Accident Analysis & Prevention, vol. 106, pp. 370-378.

The current study is aimed to continue the research of the authors on the topic of harm caused by mobile phone using and driving at the same time. Therefore, it presents an essential supplement for the previous article, making the finding more comprehensive and profound. The scientists intended to explore: “the effects of conversation and texting (each with two difficulty levels) on driving performance of Indian drivers in terms of their mean speed and accident avoiding abilities” (Choudhary and Velaga 353). Pursuing this aim, 100 participants of different age groups were recruited. They were offered to respond to two situations, which were “unexpected crossing of pedestrians and joining of parked vehicles from road side” (Choudhary and Velaga 354). The results demonstrated that drivers tend to decrease the mean speed while having a phone conversation or texting a message. Despite this measure, the likelihood of car accidents increased several times.

George, Brown, et al. “”I Need to Skip a Song because It Sucks”: Exploring Mobile Phone Use While Driving among Young Adults.” Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, vol. 58, pp. 382-391.

One of the arguments in the paper for prohibiting hand-held mobile phones regards the fact that predominantly people apply their gadgets for entertaining purposes. Therefore, the current study was helpful for presenting an argument and support it, as the study focuses on clarifying the reasons why people tend to use mobile phones while driving in general. It covers young adult people and their habits and indicated that this action appeared to be widely spread among these age groups. Despite the fact that there are situations, which require an urgent response, George, Brown, et al. highlight that predominantly, the respondents use mobile phones while driving for entertaining purposes. They may listen to music, switch tracks, browsing the Internet, and texting friends and colleagues. This study was essential to building the argument that people may refuse to use mobile phones and driving at the same time without obstacles.

Liu, Lu, et al. “A Longitudinal Analysis of the Effectiveness of California’s Ban on Cellphone Use While Driving.” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, vol. 124, 2019, pp. 456-467.

The current study appeared crucial for writing the paper and defending the position for prohibiting hand-held phone use while driving. In general, it was vital for constructing the central argument for the effectiveness of appropriate legislation for making roads safer both for drivers and pedestrians. The article is devoted to exploring the case of mobile phone prohibition while driving in California, which was implemented in 2008. Liu, Lu, et al. confirm the positive results of the established restriction. Moreover, they mark: “the study also confirms that crashes caused by cellphone use produce more severe outcomes than other crashes” (Liu, Lu, et al. 2). In addition, the study revealed that the law motivated the population to adhere to hand0free mobile phones or abandon using them in general. As a result, the statistics of road accidents significantly improved. Consequently, the article was insightful for defending the position for prohibition and understanding that these restrictions may be fruitful in the long run.

Oviedo-Trespalacios, Oscar et al. “Risk Factors of Mobile Phone Use While Driving in Queensland: Prevalence, Attitudes, Crash Risk Perception, and Task-Management Strategies.” PLoS ONE, vol. 12, no. 9, 2017.

Oviedo-Trespalacios et al. explore the issue of mobile phone use while driving comprehensively, including a description of mobile phone use, risk factors, compensatory strategies, and other details. The findings are based on the data received from almost 500 drivers. The study revealed that the majority predominantly do not associate mobile phone use while driving with high risks of road accidents. The researchers conclude that it is recommended to encourage more awareness of safety measures on the road in order to improve the situation. the study was informative to achieve a profound understanding of the problem.

Papadimitriou, Eleonora et al. “Analysis of Driver Behaviour Through Smartphone Data: The Case of Mobile Phone Use While Driving, Safety Science, vol. 119, 2019, p. 91-97.

The purpose of the current study was to examine driver behavior, who use mobile phones in the process, via the data collected with smartphones. 100 participants were involved in the experiment, and a specially developed smartphone application was utilized. The received data was analyzed by Machine Learning algorithms and behavior indicators. In general, mobile phone use during a trip is more likely in the case of driving long distances and off-morning rush. Mobile phone use while driving is frequently accompanied by speed decrease and smooth driving, though it is still associated with significant risks. The article was helpful for getting acquainted with the problem.

Shi, Xiao, et al. “Analysis of Factors Affecting Drivers’ Choice to Engage with a Mobile Phone while Driving in Beijing.” Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, vol. 37, 2016, pp. 1-9.

Shi et al. intended to explore the reasons that prompted drivers to use mobile phones. The study covers the population in Beijing, and the research method implied an internet survey. All the conversations while driving a vehicle were sorted into four categories. The participants were required to define the frequency of mobile phone use while driving and respond to whether they understand the possible threats. In addition, they were asked to evaluate the importance of calls and messages. Shi et al. mark that, unlike the United States, the majority of Beijing drivers are conscious of this topic and report that they use mobile phones only in case of necessity. However, despite the awareness of the dangers involved in mobile phone use while driving and legislation prohibiting it, they may still continue a conversation. The study revealed that, occasionally, drivers might overestimate the importance of calls and messages. This article appeared to be informative for the section, which argues that phone use while driving may be abandoned without significant ordeals.

Works Cited

Choudhary, Pushpa, and Velaga, Nagendra. “Modelling Driver Distraction Effects due to Mobile Phone Use on Reaction Time.” Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, vol. 77, 2017, pp. 351-365.

“Mobile Phone Use during Driving: Effects on Speed and Effectiveness of Driver Compensatory Behaviour.” Accident Analysis & Prevention, vol. 106, pp. 370-378.

Papadimitriou, Eleonora et al. “Analysis of Driver Behaviour Through Smartphone Data: The Case of Mobile Phone Use While Driving, Safety Science, vol. 119, 2019, p. 91-97.

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