As I wrote about a while back, I recently added a Bluetooth-based hands-free speaker phone to my car. It mostly works well enough, but after a month or so of use, I notice what may be an unintended consequence of this addition: I use my phone more while driving.
I'm thinking that this needs to stop (or at least be greatly reduced). Clearly the intent of the new California law is to increase safety by forcing drivers to focus less on distractions and more on -- well -- driving! If many people make the same decisions as I made, and buy more hands-free kits and portable speaker phones, then it just might be the case that driver distraction goes up, instead of down.
We have all read many times that studies seem to show that talking at all -- not just holding the phone decreased driver concentration. I'm afraid the new California hands-free mobile phone law might be a new case study in the Law of Unintended Consequences.
One especially valuable lesson I learned from flying airplanes is summarized in the mantra "aviate, navigate, communicate." This phrase is a priority ordering of tasks, designed to focus a limited attention on the most important things to staying safe. First, fly the plane no matter what. Only when that is very much under control can you consider where you are and where you are going. When both of those things are comfortably taken care of, then think about talking with those around you and of course to air traffic controllers. These steps aren't a single task -- you're supposed consider the ordering all of the time. This memory aid or ones derived from it are basic tools used by pilots throughout a flight (often subconsciously).
Since I can't think of a catchy memory aid for driving (maybe you can?), I'll just continue to use "aviate, navigate, communicate" while on the road.
Leave a comment