EDMONTON – If you think a driver’s performance isn’t affected while they’re talking on a hands-free device, a University of Alberta study says you’re wrong.
A pilot study conducted by a Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine professor and a graduate student shows drivers who talk on a hands-free device make significantly more errors than those who aren’t using any device.
The study found drivers using a hands-free device would cross the centre line of a road, speed and change lanes without signalling much more frequently.
The spike in errors also corresponded with a jump in heart rate and brain activity.
“The number of errors increased, and also the severity of the errors increased,” said Yagesh Bhambhani, the professor leading the study.
Drivers were shown to make errors that they would not otherwise make, such as running red lights and changing lanes without signalling. There was also one collision.
Bhambhani and graduate student Mayank Rehani used near infrared spectroscopy to study brain activity of drivers who went through a driving course using a driving simulator.
“The near infrared spectroscopy data showed us that there was an increase in neuronal activity. The brain was more active during hands-free telecommunication,” said Bhambhani.
According to Rehani, previous research has shown that using a hands-free phone while driving is “almost equivalent to driving at the legal limit for blood alcohol.”
Drivers were first tested using no device, then tested again while talking on a hands-free device.
Bhambhani and Rehani were not able to establish a “significant correlation” between the increase in brain activity and the number of driving errors. They know that drivers will make more errors when using a hands-free device, but they don’t know why.
Alberta adopted distracted driving legislation in September 2011. The legislation allows police to hand out fines to drivers caught texting or talking on a hand-held phone. However, drivers are still allowed to use a hands-free device.
Bhambhani doesn’t think that any phone call is worth the risk of an accident.
“If the phone call is urgent enough then pull up on the road and talk,” he said. “But I would certainly advise against anyone using Bluetooth while they are driving.”
With files from Dietrich Neu