Introduction
Some people claim that multitasking is an inevitable part of a fast-changing world. They believe that the current workplace is full of interruptions that must be accommodated. It is almost impossible for them to focus on one task uninterruptedly.
This is why many end up using their phones when driving. However, research shows that making phone calls can reduce a driver’s ability to perform tasks well because of the cognitive challenges involved.
Multitasking versus performing a single task
Cognitive skills are those mental skills that facilitate learning. One of these skills includes attention, which can be selective, divided or sustained. Multitasking is recognized as divided attention because it involves retaining and attending to two or more things. People do not ‘multitask’ per say; they merely switch from one task to another at very quick rates.
When multitasking, individuals find it difficult to give tasks adequate attention and this leads to superficial processing. As one carries out a certain activity, one is likely to develop attention based inertia, which makes it very difficult to distract such a person. Multitasking disrupts this state of inertia and thus minimizes a person’s ability to perform tasks well (Frith et al., 2001).
Cell-phone use requires cognitive skills because it is not an automated task; additionally, the same thing can be said about driving. These skills become automatic when practiced continually. For example, one can typewrite or play instruments with relative ease after doing so for a long time.
This means that active processing may no longer be necessary. However, safe driving involves continuous learning and so does telephone use so these activities cannot be automated. For this reason, it is quite difficult to multitask when the activities involved are driving and talking on the phone (Redelmeier & Tibshirani, 1997).
Different types of talking
Talking to passengers differs from talking on the phone because the passengers can pin point threats on the road. Passengers are likely to keep quiet when the driver is in the middle of a heavy traffic jam or when he or she is driving in hazardous conditions. Consequently, such passengers make driving safer.
Hands free calling and conventional calling
Holding a phone when driving may cause the driver to use only one hand for the latter task and this compromises driving performance. Hands free calling can reduce this problem by giving a driver freedom to use both hands. However it would still not address the root cause of the problem, which is related to the processing of information from multiple sources.
The mind would still be involved in receiving and processing information from the telephone conversation as well as the road. Eventually, this would lead to dangerous repercussions such as swerving or crushing. Researchers have shown that most television viewers cannot process information effectively when watching two TC sets (Frith et al., 2001).
The same thing applies to people who try to listen to two conversations at the same time. People will not remember most of the things they see or hear when this information comes to them simultaneously, because the brain’s cortex cannot effectively distinguish between relevant and irrelevant distractions.
A conventional phone call is not different from a hands-free phone call because both distract the mind with new audio information. The brain focuses more on the phone conversation than the visual information from the highway because the latter information does not change as fast as the conversation does.
This also happens because words disappear after they are spoken so the mind would want to capture them before they fade away. As a result, drivers are likely to ignore certain visual cues on the road and this could be unsafe. Driving is a complex task which requires one to react to incoming information very quickly.
Sometimes a pedestrian may cross the road unexpectedly or another car may get onto the wrong lane; these changes require frequent and rapid responses. One cannot respond promptly when one’s attention is focused on a phone conversation (Anderson, 2010).
Text messaging when driving
Text messaging is by far the most complicated of all phone related tasks. It requires a great deal of visual scanning, decision making, information processing and attention. A text message involves greater visual scanning than a phone call because a sender needs to look at the message he or she is creating, and that would take his or her eyes off the road.
One also needs to make decisions on the kinds of words to use. This would be much harder because it involves the use of literacy skills, which are not required in phone conversations. Drivers would find information processing and concentration to be more difficult when text messaging than when talking on the phone.
They need to ensure that they divide their attention between the road and the phone as they text. Some may miss visual cues when composing the message. All these additional task demands make text messaging more dangerous than talking on the phone.
Conclusion
Driving and talking on the phone simultaneously can be dangerous because both activities require cognitive skills. The brain focuses on the phone call at the expense of the most important task which is driving. One’s reaction time is severely impeded and this could be very hazardous.
References
Anderson, J. (2010). Cognitive psychology and its implications. Boston: Allyn and Bacon
Frith, C., Rees, G., Fockert, J., lavie, N. & De Fockert, J. (2001). Role of working memory in visual selective attention. Science journal, 291(5509), 1803-1806
Redelmeier, D. & Tibshirani, R. (1997). Association between cellular telephone calls and motor vehicle collisions. New England Journal of Medicine, 336(7), 453-458