title: Profiles in driver distraction: effects of cell phone conversations on younger and older drivers.
abstract: Our research examined the effects of hands-free cell phone conversations on simulated driving. We found that driving performance of both younger and older adults was influenced by cell phone conversations. Compared with single-task (i.e., driving-only) conditions, when drivers used cell phones their reactions were 18% slower, their following distance was 12% greater, and they took 17% longer to recover the speed that was lost following braking. There was also a twofold increase in the number of rear-end collisions when drivers were conversing on a cell phone. These cell-phone-induced effects were equivalent for younger and older adults, suggesting that older adults do not suffer a significantly greater penalty for talking on a cell phone while driving than compared with their younger counterparts. Interestingly, the net effect of having younger drivers converse on a cell phone was to make their average reactions equivalent to those of older drivers who were not using a cell phone. Actual or potential applications of this research include providing guidance for recommendations and regulations concerning the use of mobile technology while driving.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0251, USA. david.strayer@utah.edu
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Strayer
authors.forename: Frank A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Drews
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001334:Automobile Driving; D001364:Awareness / Q000502:physiology; D040421:Cell Phone; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D013216:Reflex, Startle; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013060:Speech; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis