Mirroring previous studies of drivers and accidents, a new report finds that drowsiness and distraction are the causes of the most auto crashes. If you use your vehicle as a moving office, listen up.
Driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes and near-crashes, according to a recently released report by the The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). Drowsiness is the most significant safety risk and cell phone use behind the wheel is the most common distraction for drivers.
In a year-long study of 241 drivers in 100 sensor-equipped vehicles covering more than 2 million miles of travel (yielding over 42,300 hours of data) in the Washington, D.C. area, it was found that the drivers were involved in 82 crashes and 761 near-crashes.
Drowsy drivers were at least four times more likely to crash or narrowly escape an accident than rested motorists. The study showed that drowsiness contributed to 20 percent of all crashes and 16 percent of near crashes. Researchers were concerned by the findings because they believe that drowsiness as a factor in car crashes or near-accidents is under-reported.
Where multitasking real estate agents need to sit up and take notice is that cell phones and other hand-held communication devices were linked to the highest frequency of near crashes and incidents, according to researchers. Driver inattention was a factor in 80 percent of all crashes and 65 percent of all near crashes within three seconds before the event.
Cell-phone dependent real estate agents may wonder why cell phones are a danger. After all, hands-free devices allow you to keep your hands on the wheel, right?
Wrong. According to previous studies conducted by the University of Rhode Island in 2002, the eye movements of drivers while talking on cell phones decrease to a dangerous tunnel vision range. That means they stare straight ahead, losing peripheral vision. The NHTSA found that drivers using cell phones were most susceptible to crashes (82), near-crashes (761) and critical incidents (8,295) while dialing their phones. However, because of the length of conversations, their exposure to danger while on the phone was as great as when they took their eyes off the road to dial.
Key findings include:
- Drowsiness is a significant problem that increases a driver's risk of a crash or near-crash by at least a factor of four. But drowsy driving may be significantly under-reported in police crash investigations.
- The most common distraction for drivers is the use of cell phones. However, the number of crashes and near-crashes attributable to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening. Dialing is more dangerous but occurs less often than talking or listening.
- Reaching for a moving object increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by 9 times; looking at an external object by 3.7 times; reading by 3 times; applying makeup by 3 times; dialing a hand-held device (typically a cell phone) by almost 3 times; and talking or listening on a hand-held device by 1.3 times.
- Drivers who engage frequently in distracting activities are more likely to be involved in an inattention-related crash or near-crash. However, drivers are often unable to predict when it is safe to look away from the road to multitask because the situation can change abruptly leaving the driver no time to react even when looking away from the forward roadway for only a brief time.
Solutions? More and more communities are outlawing cell phone conversations for drivers, but if you're not breaking the law and you absolutely must continue to cell and drive, here are some suggestions:
- 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.
- If you must take that call, inform callers that 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Move to slower lanes.
Increase the distance between your car and other vehicles. If 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.
- Don't mistake cell phone calls as the same as passenger 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.
- 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.
- 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. 
