HANDS FREE ISN'T RISK FREE FOR TEENS!

New Jersey’s graduated driver license (GDL) program prohibits teens from using wireless, interactive devices when behind the wheel. Not surprisingly many assume using a hands-free device to make or take a call is okay. Not only is it a violation of state law, but a new AAA study confirms that hands-free isn’t safer.

According to AAA, while hands-free might make it easier for teens and all of us, for that matter, to text, talk on the phone or even use Facebook while driving, dangerous mental or cognitive distractions exist even when we keep our hands on the wheel and our eyes on the road. The research, the most comprehensive to date, found that as mental workload and distractions increase our reaction time slows, our brain function is compromised, we scan the road less, and we miss visual cues. The result is that we’re not seeing things right in front of us like stop signs and pedestrians. We’re literally driving blind.

Led by cognitive distraction expert Dr. David Strayer and his research team at the University of Utah, the study measured brainwaves, eye movement and other metrics to assess what happens to our mental workload when we attempt to do multiple things at once while driving. In-car cameras, along with a detection-response-task device or DRT that measured driver reaction time when red and green lights were added to their field of vision, were used in the research. The drivers also wore a special skull cap that enabled the researchers to chart brain activity and determine mental workload.

Using established research protocols borrowed from aviation psychology and a number of performance metrics, drivers engaged in a variety of common tasks ranging from listening to an audio book or talking on the phone, to listening and responding to voice-activated e-mails. Researchers then used the results to rate, on a scale of 1 to 3, the level of mental distraction drivers experienced while performing each task.

Tasks like listening to the radio ranked as a level 1 or minimal risk. Talking on a cell phone, both handheld and hands-free, scored a 2 or moderate risk. Listening and responding to in-vehicle, voice-activated e-mail features increased mental workload and distractions levels to a 3 rating or extensive risk.

As a result of the research, AAA is calling on the auto and electronics industries to limit the use of voice-activated technology to core driving activities such as climate control, windshield wipers and cruise control. They also recommend disabling, while the vehicle is in motion, voice-to-text technologies such as using social media or interacting with e-mail and text messages.

Driving is a complex task -- it involves much more than steering, accelerating and braking. It requires a driver’s complete mental focus. For teen drivers, who have the highest crash risk of any age group on the road, removing the distraction caused by the use of smart phones and other technology is essential. Even after completing the probationary phase (first year of unsupervised, but restricted driving) of the GDL program, I recommend that parents continue to prohibit their teens from using cell phones while driving. I also urge them to be positive role models and put away their devices.

The bottom line is that if you want your teen driver to make safety priority number one, drive the way you want him or her to drive. Make the car a no-phone zone and be 100 percent focused on the road.