Effects of naturalistic cell phone conversations on driving performance

The prevalence of automobile drivers talking on cell phones is growing, but the effect of that behavior on driving performance is unclear. Also unclear is the relationship between the difficulty level of a phone conversation and the resulting distraction.

This study used a driving simulator to determine the effect that easy and difficult cell phone conversations have on driving performance.

Cell phone use caused participants to have higher variation in accelerator pedal position, drive more slowly with more variation in speed, and report a higher level of workload regardless of conversation difficulty level.

Drivers may cope with the additional stress of phone conversations by enduring higher workloads or setting reduced performance goals.

Because an increasing number of people talk on the phone while driving, crashes caused by distracted drivers using cell phones will cause disruptions in business, as well as injury, disability, and permanent loss of personnel.