Dr Gemma Briggs, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, The Open University<\/a>, was one of three expert witnesses giving evidence at the Transport Select Committee meeting in June. The research underpinning the oral evidence was carried out as a collaboration between Dr Gemma Briggs and Dr Graham Hole, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Sussex<\/a>. Their research supports the view that hands-free phone use is equally distracting as hand-held use and can cause drivers to look directly at hazards yet fail to notice them.<\/p>\n Both Dr Briggs and Dr Hole have welcomed the recommendations in the report, particularly the suggestion that Government should consider extending legislation to make hands-free phone use by drivers an enforceable offence.<\/p>\n \u201cThe current mobile phone laws are outdated and not fit for purpose. They also, by implication, suggest that hands-free phone use is a safe alternative to hand-held use despite compelling research evidence, including our own, which disputes this. As such, the law around what constitutes \u2018phone use\u2019 and how it negatively impacts on a driver\u2019s attention needs clarification.\u201d Said Dr Briggs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cThe public need to understand why phone use is dangerous. Public awareness needs to be increased in this area and I look forward to hearing the Government\u2019s response to this.<\/p>\n Dr Gemma Briggs, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, OU<\/p><\/div>\n Adding, \u201cEnforcement is also an important issue in this debate. Without significant investment in roads policing and new technologies to assist in detection of offenders, any change in the law would be challenging to enforce. Enforcement of a hands-free ban would be challenging, but that doesn\u2019t mean we shouldn\u2019t do it!\u201d<\/p>\n Chair of the Committee, Lilian Greenwood MP<\/a>, also echoed the sentiment that a change in the public\u2019s attitude and behaviour is key.<\/p>\n \u201cIf mobile phone use while driving is to become as socially unacceptable as drink driving much more effort needs to go into educating drivers about the risks and consequences of using a phone behind the wheel. Offenders also need to know there is a credible risk of being caught, and that there are serious consequences for being caught.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cThere is also a misleading impression that hands-free use is safe. The reality is that any use of a phone distracts from a driver\u2019s ability to pay full attention and the Government should consider extending the ban to reflect this.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Graham Hole, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Sussex<\/a>, explains the impact of the distraction of mobile phones on drivers, putting the importance of this report into context.<\/p>\n \u201cA popular misconception is that using a mobile phone while driving is safe as long as the driver uses a hands-free phone. Our research shows drivers are distracted by phone conversations, regardless of whether they are hand-held or hands-free. Because their attention is focused on the conversation, a driver will try to cope by reducing the mental demands of the driving.<\/p>\n \u201cThey do this by looking around less, so they are less likely to spot emerging hazards, like pedestrians, especially in their peripheral vision. They also over-rely on their expectations about what is likely to happen next – which causes problems when something unexpected happens.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2017, there were 773 casualties, including 43 deaths and 135 serious injuries, in collisions where a driver using a mobile phone was a contributory factor. The number of people killed or seriously injured has risen steadily since 2011.<\/p>\n However, the rate of enforcement has plunged by more than two thirds since 2011.<\/p>\n For more about information about Dr Gemma Briggs\u2019 research you might be interested in:<\/p>\n Hands-free phone tech is dangerous – so why do car firms still promote it?<\/a><\/p>\n In-car technology: are we being sold a false sense of security?<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/427589206_158d1c4e74_b_driving-300x225.jpg\")
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