According to unreleased figures supplied by the National Association of Realtors, 93 to 100 percent of Realtors have cell phones, or nearly 800,000. There are over 140 million cell phone users, and a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration survey suggests that three out of four cell phone users talk on their cell phones while driving. The National Safety Council says that driver distraction (including talking on a cell phone) is the cause of up to one-third of car accidents, or 1.2 million annually. If national averages hold true for the Realtor demographic, 600,000 Realtors who talk on the phone while driving are at four times the risk of other drivers for having car accidents.

While communities struggle to curb the use of cell phones while driving, some have approved the use of hands-free units, which researchers say have limited value in preventing car accidents. That's because it is the conversation that is most distracting, says a new study by the University of Rhode Island.

Cell phone use while driving is a matter of optimizing time for the workaholic American businessperson, but according to SmartMotorist.com, your first job is keeping your attention on the road. Here are some adaptions of sound advice from the site, customized by Realty Times for the mobile Realtor:

1. If you're going to use your car as an office, then get organized

   Distractions can be caused by a number of factors from unfamiliarity with phone features to searching for the phone and notetaking materials while driving. Solutions can include:

   • Practice with your phone until you are familiar with features such as speed-dialing. Use voice activation if available.
   • Keep your phone handy so you don't have to dig in a briefcase or handbag to locate it when a call comes in.
   • Learn to dial emergency numbers such as 911 without looking at your phone. Practice ending calls without looking at your phone.
   • When using a hands-free device, make sure it doesn't block emergency equipment such as parking brakes or airbags.
   • Keep a file folder handy to put loose papers so they don't cover the phone by mistake.

2. Inform callers when you are driving

   Alert others that your conversation requires more concentration than you can give while operating your car. Either ask for a moment to pull off the road or suggest that you return the call when you can respond safely. Pull off the road to make notes in your planner or message yourself to return the call.

3. Avoid stressful calls

   Calls to Realtors can impact their daily schedule or their current transactions which suggests that most calls will be stressful, and stress isn't compatible with keeping your attention on the road. If you screen or return your calls while on the road, save the detail-intensive or stressful calls and deal with them later. Don't take notes until you are off the road.

4. Limit calls in high traffic areas or in dangerous conditions

   Cell phone users are already known by researchers to be 24 percent slower in applying their brakes than drivers not using phones, says a study by Nfiami University. Some communities are considering ordinances that will outlaw cell phone use by drivers in high traffic areas or on roads with dangerous conditions. Snow, ice, sleet, rain, and other hazardous driving conditions compound dangers on most roads, so get into the habit now of staying off the phone on that blind curve or in wet conditions.

5. Move to slower lanes

   Move to slower lanes and increase the distance between your car and other vehicles. Cell phone drivers are 24 percent slower to hit the brakes than non-cell phone users. That translates to at least 10 more feet needed between you and the next car per 10 miles per hour.

6. Recognize the difference between passenger and phone conversations

   Most defenders of phone use while driving point out that conversations on the phone are no more dangerous than those with a passenger. But new research says this isn't so. Drivers using cell phones don't move their eyes around, losing critical peripheral vision as they stare straight ahead while entranced in conversation. Worse, researchers have found that the "tunnel vision" goes on for some minutes after the conversation is concluded while the driver "thinks" about the conversation. That means drivers may miss hazards coming at them from the sides. Also, passengers can alert drivers to dangerous situations, while cell phone parties are unable to do so.

7. Limit phone use while driving with passengers

   It may seem old-fashioned, but courtesy can be a life-saver. Talking on the telephone puts you in a private conversation with whomever is on the other end, excluding people who may be in your company.

   In this world where adults have to be reminded at the movies and concerts to turn off their phones and pagers, (and some still refuse to) it's possible that we've let technology overtake our everyday manners. If you have passengers, they deserve your attention to the road first and foremost, and your ambient attention next. If you are waiting for a call, such as permission to show a home you are on the way to view, be brief and to the point with the caller. Make calls that are associated with your passengers only. Pull over or park while making calls so that you protect your passengers' safety. Save other business and personal calls for later.

8. Don't put too much faith in hands-free devices

   While hands-free devices do make cell phone driving safer, they don't by much. Cell phone drivers are four times more likely to be involved in an accident. Cell phone users employing hands free devices are three times as likely to get involved in an accident. Your odds have only been cut by 25 percent to use a hands-free device.

Published: August 19, 2002

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.