The Effects of Cellular Phone Use on Novice and Experienced Driver Performance: An On-Road Study

• Published in: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting 2008, Vol.52 (23), p.1910-1914
• Main Authors: Smahel, Thomas, Smiley, Alison, Donderi, Don
• Format: Review
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1541-9312; 1071-1813; 2169-5067
• DOI: 10.1177/154193120805202317

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of cell phone use on novice as compared to experienced drivers to determine if a cell phone prohibition might be an appropriate graduated licensing restriction. Nineteen novices and twenty experienced drivers participated. The test route consisted of two laps around a 20-minute circuit and included a mixture of residential and urban roadways with speeds of 50 km/h or less. Participants drove an instrumented vehicle, made two outgoing calls, and received two calls during the course of the trip. For reasons of safety, participants were accompanied both by a researcher, and by a driving instructor with access to a second brake. With respect to the effects of experience on driving, no measures produced significant results. With respect to the effects of cell phone use on driving performance, two of six measures showed a trend, and one a significant difference between the call and no call condition; participants reduced their speed by a small, but significant amount, (1.27 km/h) during calls. The act of talking on the phone increases mental workload and information processing demands. The finding of effects on driver performance related to being on a call, and the lack of effects relating to experience differences, suggests that cell phone prohibition is appropriate for all drivers, not only novice drivers.