Hands-Free Driving Devices: Everything You Need to Know

s cell phones

nd <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

c

-technology-dist

cted-d

iving

“>communic

tion technology<> g

o

inc

e

singly popul, d

ive

s e st

uggling mo

e

nd mo

e to igno

e them

hile on the

o

d. Those text mess

ges coming th

ough seem to dem

nd

n immedi

te

esponse.

n incoming phone c

ll c

tches thei

ttention

t th

t moment,

egdless of the d

ive

’s othe

needs.

s

ccidents h

ve

isen due to dist

cting mobile devices, l

m

ke

s h

ve begun to

espond by implementing l

s

nd policies to help p

event cell phone use on the

o

ds.

Most st

tes <

h

ef="https:

/

.txdot.gov

inside-txdot/division/t

ffic/s

fety

l

s/cellphones.html#:~:text=You%20c

nnot%20send%20o

%20

eceive,p

ohibited%20f

om%20using%20h

ndheld%20devices.” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>p

ohibit using

cell phone >

hile d

iving; in Tex

s, fo

ex

mple, th

t includes:

• -level=”1″>No texting
  nd d

  iving fo

  ny

  e

  son

• i
  -level="1">D

  ive

  s

  ith le

  ne

  ’s pe

  mits must

  void cell phone use<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">D

  ive

  s unde

  18 c

  nnot use h

  ndheld devices o

  t

  lk on the phone

  t

  ll

  hile d

  iving

Despite those l

s, ho

eve

, the pe

sistent buzz o

ding of

cell phone c

n p

ove hd to

esist. Ho

c

n you keep you

h

nds on the

heel

hen you h

ve so m

ny othe

things dem

nding you

ttention?

Ente

h

nds-f

ee devices.

ith

h

nds-f

ee device, you might think, you c

n not only

em

in in compli

nce

ith the l

egding device use behind the

heel, but you c

n

lso dec

e

se the odds th

t you

ill get involved in

n

ccident. It’s

in/

in,

ight? Not necess

ily.

Does h

nds-f

ee device use

e

lly dec

e

se

ccident

isk? C

n you s

fely ope

te

h

nds-f

ee device

hile d

iving,

hile still keeping you

self

nd othe

s in the vehicle

ith you s

fe? T

ke

look

t some inte

esting f

cts

bout h

nds-f

ee device use in you

vehicle

nd ho

you c

n imp

ove you

s

fety on the

o

d—

ithout missing those oh-so-impo

t

nt c

lls

nd notific

tions.

H

nds-F

ee Device Use: Does It

e

lly Dec

e

se

ccident

isk?

<

h

ef="https:

/

.scienced

ily.com/

ele

ses/2019/02/190207173255.htm” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“> study pe

fo

med by the Vi

gini

Tech T

nspo

t

tion Institute > notes th

t using h

nds-f

ee devices

e

lly does dec

e

se

ccident

isk comp

ed to the potenti

l d

nge

s

ssoci

ted

ith

ctively using

cell phone, including texting

nd d

iving. Ho

eve

, the study noted th

t d

ive

s

ho used h

nd-held devices still f

ced

n inc

e

sed

ccident

isk of t

o to 3.5 times the

ccident

isk f

ced by d

ive

s

ho kept thei

eyes, h

nds,

nd undivided

ttention on the t

sk

t h

nd. The study concluded th

t,

hile cognitive distction m

y c

use some inc

e

sed

isk on the

o

d, it does not pose ne

ly

s signific

nt

d

nge

s t

king one’s eyes

nd/o

h

nds off the

o

d.

To fully unde

st

nd the

isks of distcted d

iving, it helps to b

e

k do

n the<

h

ef="https:

/

.cdc.gov

t

nspo

t

tions

fety

dist

cted_d

iving

index.html” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“> th

ee key types of distctions d

ive

s f

ce > on the

o

d. Let’s t

ke

look.

M

nu

l Distction<

h3>
M

nu

l dist

ctions t

ke one o

both of

d

ive

’s h

nds off of the

heel. Texting, holding

phone to you

e, o

t

ying to n

vig

te the buttons

nd inputs on

cell phone c

n

ll pose potent m

nu

l distctions. Most of the time, people don’t pull both h

nds off the

heel to de

l

ith

t

sk inside the c, f

om

ns

e

ing

phone c

ll to sending

text mess

ge. Ho

eve

, d

ive

s m

y need both h

nds on the

heel to

espond quickly in the event of d

nge

, especi

lly if they need to stee

quickly to

void

h

z

d on the

o

d. Eve

y second counts. The ext moments needed to get the d

ive

’s h

nds b

ck to the

heel could

ep

esent the diffe

ence bet

een st

ying s

fe

nd getting into

n

ccident th

t

esults in dis

ste

!

Visu

l Dist

ctions

Visu

l distctions t

ke

d

ive

’s eyes off of the

o

d. In genel, it t

kes

ound five seconds to look do

n,

e

d

text mess

ge,

nd

ns

e

it—especi

lly if

d

ive

thinks they c

n sne

kily check th

t mess

ge in thei

l

p, the

th

n b

inging the phone up close

to eye level. In those five seconds, you

c

m

y tvel hund

eds of feet.

nything c

n h

ppen in the sp

ce of those five seconds. The c

in f

ont of you could sl

m on its b

kes.

child could dt out into tffic. You could h

ve

n unexpected t

ist o

tu

n in the

o

d in f

ont of you, o

encounte

n unexpected slick p

tch.

ith you

eyes

nd

ttention off the

o

d, those seconds of distction could p

ove c

t

st

ophic.

Cognitive Distctions<

h3>
Eve

yone’s mind nde

s once in

hile. If people

e

e tot

lly honest, they might

dmit th

t they d

ive

ith cognitive distctions on

stunningly

egul b

sis. Cognitive dist

ctions include

nything th

t t

kes the d

ive

’s

ttention off of the

o

d: t

lking

ith someone in the c

, de

ling

ith kids in the b

ck se

t, o

even d

yd

e

ming.

Cognitive dist

ctions could even be

s simple

s “I

e

lly need

est stop,

nd I c

nnot think

bout

nything else!” Still, cognitive dist

ctions c

n c

use se

ious

ccidents, especi

lly fo

younge

d

ive

s,

ho might l

ck the c

p

city to

espond

eflexively to potenti

l eme

gencies on the

o

d. Ho

eve

, cognitive distctions pose less of

th

e

t th

n the othe

types of dist

ctions.

Cell Phones:

Distcted D

iving T

iple Th

e

t<

h3>
Did you notice ho

cell phone use on

t

dition

l h

ndheld device involves

ll th

ee types of dist

ction? The use

t

kes

t le

st one h

nd off the

heel to pick up the device

nd use its inte

f

ce. Thei

eyes d

ift to the device

s they check to see

h

t it s

ys:

ho c

lled,

h

t the text mess

ge s

ys,

nd

h

t thei

esponse s

ys. Then, the d

ive

’s

ttention

em

ins on the device,

the

th

n on the

o

d in f

ont of them. H

nds-f

ee devices help elimin

te t

o of the <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

th

ee-types-distcted-d

iving/”>th

ee types of distction<>. They keep the d

ive

’s eyes

nd

ttention on the

o

d,

he

e they c

n mo

e e

sily keep

ttention on the t

sk

t h

nd,

hile still

llo

ing the d

ive

to

ns

e

those vit

l notific

tions. Fo

tun

tely,

cco

ding to the study f

om the Vi

gini

Tech Tnspo

t

tion Institute, the cognitive distction

ssoci

ted

ith c

ying on

conve

s

tion

ith someone outside the c h

s

signific

ntly

educed

isk of c

using

se

ious

ccident comp

ed to othe

types of distction behind the

heel.

The Potenti

l D

nge

s of Using H

nds-F

ee Devices<

h2>

hile using h

nds-f

ee devices c

n

educe

ccident

isk, it does not necessily elimin

te it.

D

ive

s using h

nds-f

ee devices m

y still become distcted

nd st

uggle to keep theittention on the

o

d, especi

lly if they

e involved in

n emotion

l conve

s

tion.

1. D

ive

s eng

ged in conve

s

tions

ith people outside the vehicle m

y notice fe

e

h

z

ds.

cco

ding to

<

h

ef="https:

/

.scienced

ily.com/

ele

ses/2016/06/160608100130.htm” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“> study by the Unive

sity of Sussex<>, d

ive

s focused on

conve

s

tion

ith someone outside the vehicle, especi

lly one th

t eng

ged visu

l im

gin

tion, might h

ve

lo

e

likelihood of noticing potenti

l h

zds in f

ont of the vehicle. In gene

l, those d

ive

s p

id

ttention to

sm

lle

pe

cent

ge of the

o

d,

hich m

de it hde

fo

them to identify h

z

ds

long the y.

conve

s

tion

ith

p

ssenge

in the vehicle does not pose the s

me h

z

d bec

use p

ssenge

s in the vehicle c

n see potenti

l h

z

ds

he

d

nd modete conve

s

tion

cco

dingly, p

eventing the d

ive

’s

ttention f

om d

ifting

y f

om the

o

d

t

c

itic

l moment.

2. H

nds-f

ee devices m

y not elimin

te visu

l dist

ctions.

hile h

nds-f

ee devices

im to subst

nti

lly dec

e

se visu

l

nd m

nu

l dist

ctions, they do not necess

ily

emove them completely. Often, h

nds-f

ee devices

equi

e some

ttention to ope

te.

Suppose, fo

ex

mple, th

t you nt to use

voice-

ctiv

ted

ssist

nt to <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

texting-

nd-d

iving-l

s-in-tex

s

“>send

text mess

ge > ons

e

n em

il. Th

t

ssist

nt might

e

d out

p

evious em

il to you o

dict

te the othe

p

ty’s text mess

ge,

hich

ill p

event you f

om h

ving to look do

n. Ho

eve

,

hen you send you

o

n mess

ge, you

ill only kno

th

t the digit

l

ssist

nt tnsc

ibed it

pp

op

i

tely by looking

t it

nd p

oof

e

ding it. Some vehicles, including lge t

ucks th

t h

ve

g

e

t de

l of engine noise, c

n

lso m

ke it mo

e difficult to successfully t

nsc

ibe

mess

ge

ithout e

o

s. (Don’t

e

ll h

ve

funny sto

y

bout

speech-to-text dict

tion mish

p?) You m

y t

ke you

eyes off the

o

d longe

th

n

nticip

ted

s you look do

n

t you

o

n mess

ge—especi

lly if you then t

y to m

ke edits to th

t mess

ge.

3. H

nds-f

ee does not

lys me

n enti

ely h

nds-f

ee.<

h3>
Befo

e you c

n use

h

nds-f

ee device, you

ill need to someho

indic

te

h

t you

nt the device to do. Sometimes, this me

ns

single button p

ess. Othe

times, you m

y need to t

p mo

e th

n one button to

chieve the desi

ed

esult.

hile some h

nds-f

ee devices, including c

s equipped

ith cont

ols di

ectly on the stee

ing

heel, m

y

equi

e less m

nu

l dist

ction th

n othe

s, you might still need to t

ke you

h

nds off the

heel to de

l

ith

device. In

ddition,

hen technology f

ils o

does not beh

ve

s expected, m

ny people pull thei

h

nds off the

heel to de

l

ith it

ithout thinking th

ough the potenti

l consequences.

4. Multit

sking c

n c

e

te nume

ous cognitive ch

llenges.

The hum

n bin c

nnot multit

sk effectively. In genel, you c

n focus on one t

sk

t

time

ithout losing t

ck of

h

t you

ctu

lly pl

n to do.

hen you split you

ttention bet

een t

o t

sks, neithe

one gets you

full c

p

bility—

nd on the

o

d, th

t could be

se

ious

isk to you

nd eve

yone else

ound you.

Conside

this scenio. You h

ve c

lled into

o

k to ch

t

ith you

boss

bout

n upcoming p

oject. You h

ve the info

m

tion in mind, but it t

kes

g

e

t de

l of you

ene

gy

nd

ttention to concentte on it. Suddenly,

nothe

c pulls out in f

ont of you. No

you need to focus, not only on p

eventing

n

ccident, but on cont

olling

h

t you

boss might ove

he—especi

lly if you

c

ll includes clients.

ith you

focus split, you could c

use

ve

y se

ious

ccident

ithout eve

t

king you

h

nds off the

heel!

Using H

nds-F

ee Devices S

fely

hile h

nds-f

ee devices c

n

educe

ccident

isk, they do not elimin

te them. Not only does th

t me

n you could f

ce mo

e

isk on the

o

d, but if you

h

nds-f

ee device use cont

ibutes to

n

ccident, you could be li

bility fo

it. Using h

nds-f

ee devices s

fely c

n help you

nd those

ound you st

y s

fe

on the

o

d.

1.

void using mobile devices

hen possible.<

h3>
Sometimes, you c

nnot p

edict

hen

phone c

ll

ill come in. If you’ve

ited fo

long time fo

th

t c

ll, igno

ing it could le

ve you dist

essed

nd f

ust

ted. If the m

tte

is u

gent, such

s needing to schedule

n

ppointment o

ns

e c

ll f

om

child

t home,

ns

e

the incoming c

ll. On the othe

h

nd, if you kno

it’s

f

iend

ho likely just nts to ch

t, you m

y nt to let th

t c

ll p

ss you by. S

fety fi

st! These d

ys, m

ny mobile phones h

ve "do not distu

b” o

"d

iving mode” settings

hich c

n silence

le

ts o

utom

tic

lly

eply to mess

ges to let you

cont

cts kno

you e busy d

iving.

2. Keep conve

s

tions sho

t

nd s

eet.<

h3>
Let the pe

son on the othe

end of the line kno

th

t they inte

upted you

hile d

iving

nd th

t you c

nnot t

lk fo

long. Do not get c

ught up in ch

tting. Inste

d, end the conve

s

tion quickly

fte

sh

ing

ny necessy info

m

tion.

3.

void othe

distctions.<

h3>
The

eceptionist on the phone nts to confi

m you

insunce info

m

tion. You

boss

nts you to double-check just one quick f

ct th

t only you h

ve

ccess to. You

child nts youdvice. Unfo

tun

tely,

ll of those things

equi

e

ddition

l dist

ction th

t

ill t

ke mo

e th

n just youttention off the

o

d,

hich c

n

dd

ddition

l

isk. Let the people on the othe

line kno

th

t you

e d

iving

nd th

t you

ill

ns

e

thei

que

ies

s soon

s you get to

s

fe loc

tion. If you must p

ovide th

t info

m

tion immedi

tely fony

e

son, pull off the

o

d to

s

fe spot befo

e

llo

ing you

ttention to d

ift.

4. T

y to st

t you

conve

s

tions in

s

fe loc

tion.

St

ting

conve

s

tion on you

h

nds-f

ee device c

n

equi

e some m

nu

l o

visu

l distction.

hile most h

nds-f

ee devices m

y

equi

e only the p

ess of

button o

t

o, you m

y still h

ve to double-check the displ

y.

hen possible, stt you

conve

s

tion in

pking lot. Do not use

ed lights o

stop signs

s oppo

tunities to begin you

conve

s

tion, since you m

y lose tck of the

ctions of othe

d

ive

s ound you. Using

h

nds-f

ee device m

y

educe d

ive

dist

ction on the

o

d, but it does not elimin

te it. If you suffe

ed <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

dist

cted-d

iving-negligence-

nd-the-inju

ies-th

t-

esult

“>inju

ies in

n

ccident

ith

distcted d

ive

<>, including one distcted by

h

nds-f

ee device, you m

y dese

ve compens

tion. If <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

types-c

shes-c

used-distcted-d

ive

s

“>someone c

shed into you >,

nd you think they

e

e using

cell phone o

othe

ise d

iving

hile dist

cted, c

ll

<

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

c

–

ccident-

tto

ney-houston

“>c

ccident lye

> to see if you c

n pu

sue compens

tion fo

you

d

m

ges.