Is Using A Hands-Free Cellular Telephone While Driving Really Safe?

There’s a common misperception that using a hands-free cellular telephone is safer when driving than a hand-held device when the research clearly suggests it is not.  The risk doesn’t stem from whether one or both hands are on the steering wheel it’s whether the driver’s mind is somewhere else.

The biggest danger is “cognitive capture” – or being blind to driving cues because one is absorbed in conversations, especially emotional ones.

Hands-free laws have come to be seen as the most politically feasible way to address the dangers of driver distraction but if hands-free is the “path of least resistance,” worldwide research overwhelmingly indicating that both hand-held and hands-free cellular telephones increase the risk of traffic incidents – including ones causing major bodily injuries – wouldn’t exist.

Therefore, legislation forbidding the use of hand-held devices while driving may be ineffective and such laws may erroneously imply that hands-free cellular telephones are safe to use while driving.  In the U.S., studies tracking collisions caused by driver distraction have not been published since 2004 and there is even less data available in California but cellular use has increased enormously since then.

Some of the largest U.S. corporations bar employees from using cellular telephones when driving during working hours and making no exception for hands-free calling.  There is no better way to proactively encourage driver’s safety for a mobile workforce.