: Can you drive safely and talk on a hands-free mobile phone?

Q: Can you drive safely and talk on a hands-free mobile phone?
A: No, using your mobile in any way while driving increases your risk of an accident.

Our expert: Professor Mark Stevenson
Published 21/07/2010


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Conditions of Use

Most of us love our mobile phones. They make our lives so much easier – letting us send text messages, play music, download maps, surf the internet, and have a conversation – anywhere, anytime.

But one of the few places you should avoid using your mobile is the car, especially if you are the driver. Research clearly shows that driving while using your mobile increases your risk of an accident. However, is that still the case if your mobile is in hands-free mode?

While they free your hands for the steering wheel, hands-free phones don't make driving any safer, says Professor Mark Stevenson, senior director at The George Institute at the University of Sydney.

Whether you are using a hands-free mobile or a regular mobile phone your risk of an accident is "around four times higher compared to a driver who doesn't use a phone," Stevenson says.

Dangerous combination

Prof Stevenson has been studying the relationship between mobile phones and traffic accidents since 2005. He has been comparing individuals who've gone to hospital after traffic accidents, with their mobile phone billing records – to see if there's any correlation between car accidents and phone use.

Stevenson says their findings are similar to those of other researchers worldwide. That is: using any kind of mobile phone, including a hands-free mobile phone, significantly increases your risk of an accident.

Phone manufacturers developed hands-free mobiles in the mid-1990s, in an effort to reduce the number of phone-related accidents. Most of these phone units (either portable or built into the car) are activated by the driver's voice so the driver speaks and hears the caller's voice through the speaker. This helps to free-up your hands for the steering wheel.

Not about your hands

But it's not what your hands are doing (or not doing) that increases your chances of having an accident, Stevenson says – it's the effect of your phone call on your concentration.

When you answer your mobile phone while you are behind the wheel you disengage from the task of driving. Talking on a mobile phone also makes you less focused on the road itself and traffic conditions. It's this lack of attention to driving conditions that slows down your reaction time, thereby increasing your chances of having an accident.

And while having passengers in the car – and talking to them while driving – has also been found to increase the risk of accident, research has found this risk is less than that posed by mobile phone conversations. One possible reason is that passengers are more aware of the road conditions you're experiencing and so are more inclined to moderate their conversation.

People whose work requires that they drive a lot and use the phone – such as travelling salespeople – are especially at risk of phone-related accidents as they are more likely to engage in long and involved business conversations whilst driving.

Disconnect between science and the law

Unfortunately, current legislation in Australia (as in most other Western countries) doesn't seem to reflect the growing body of evidence that hands-free phones are just as dangerous as any other phone in the car, says Stevenson.

In all Australian states, using hand-held mobile phones while driving is illegal – while hands-free mobiles are perfectly legal. (The exception is P-plate drivers who are not allowed to use any type of phone, hand-held or hands-free.)

Also mobile phone manufacturers are able to market hands-free systems as safe alternatives to hand-held phones – despite the research evidence to the contrary.

The New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority recommends you make your calls before or after your trip. If you need to make or take a call while driving, pull over safely by the side of the road. And if you must use a hands-free phone while driving then you should:

make sure the device is set up and working before you start the car.
keep your conversation short.
never take notes, look up phone numbers, or read or send text messages while driving.
avoid complex or emotional phone conversations whilst driving.
don't make calls in heavy traffic or poor weather conditions.
end the call if it is distracting you from driving.
As of July 23 2010 Professor Mark Stevenson will be based at the Accident Research Centre at Monash University.