Death by SMS
On September 27, 2007, Ashburton teenager Robert Stonestreet killed two people when his ute veered into them while he was texting.

He was recently sentenced to a $10,000 fine, a driving ban, home detention, and counselling for alcohol abuse.

In Australia, 24 year old Silvia Nicole Ciach was given a two year suspended prison sentence for crashing into and killing a cyclist while attempting to SMS a friend she was driving to meet. The content of the message was short, simple, and deadly: cu1.

Accident statistics
Since 1995, according to Land Transport New Zealand figures, driver distraction due to mobile phone use has contributed to 446 crashes, claiming 34 lives and injuring nearly 600 people. In June this year, Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven announced a proposed ban on the use of mobile phones while driving, saying that “The number of reported crashes involving the use of mobile phones has more than doubled over the last six years”.

Government estimates place the social cost of road accidents related to mobile phone use at $173 million over the past five years.

Ban on mobile phones
The proposed law change, which is being released for public consultation this month and is expected to come into effect in July next year, bans the use of handheld mobiles, PDAs and BlackBerry devices while driving.

The proposed penalty is a fine of $50 and 25 demerit points, with a three month suspension if you get 100 or more demerit points within 2 years.

Exemptions would be made for hands-free use of mobile phones, two-way radio and 111 calls made in genuine emergencies.

Transport Minister Annette King says that the law change will bring NZ in line with international road safety standards upheld by more than 45 other countries worldwide.

Responses to the proposed law change
A survey of AA Members found that 76 per cent supported a ban on the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving.

A Research New Zealand (RNZ) poll showed 86 per cent of New Zealanders believe that phoning/texting and driving should be illegal, with 50 per cent of those saying the use of hands-free phones should also be outlawed.

Vodafone Chief Executive, Russell Stanners, applauds the ban as a great initiative which will make New Zealand’s roads safer.

The AA supports the ban and the $50 fine, but Mike Noon, AA’s General Manager Motoring Affairs, says 25 demerit points is probably too high.

Telecom’s website advises against using a mobile phone while driving, recommending the use of a headset or hands-free kit, and warning users never to text, email, or take photos and video with a mobile device while driving.

The dangers of mobile use while driving
Most of us consider ourselves better than average drivers.

We think that accidents happen because of all those other idiots out there. However the cold, hard facts of it are that no matter how great your driving skills, if you’re using a mobile phone (whether hands-free or not) while driving, you are:

• less aware of what’s happening on the road
• more likely to miss a road sign
• less likely to pick up on a potentially hazardous situation
• finding it harder to stay in your lane and maintain a steady speed
• more likely to ‘tailgate’ the vehicle in front
• slower to react
• going to take longer to brake
• more likely to misjudge safe distances when merging or entering traffic
• suffering from higher levels of stress and frustration
• four times more likely to have a collision in the next ten minutes
• nine times as likely to cause a fatal death if you do have an accident
• twice as likely to have an accident as if you had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.06 percent

If you’re using a handheld phone you have the added problems of impaired peripheral vision and motor control, which means you are more likely to lose control of your vehicle or miss sudden movements in your side mirrors or next to your vehicle. In a nutshell, the safest thing you can do with your mobile in a vehicle is to make sure it’s charged and keep it in the glove-box or boot for emergencies.

Mobile accessories for safer driving
There are some technological solutions, however, that can enable you to communicate by phone while keeping your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road.

If the proposed ban does come into effect, it will be illegal to use your phone while driving unless you have some sort of hands-free device in your car.

At present, the accessories available range from personal hands-free devices consisting of a simple earpiece/microphone combo, to plug and play cradles, professionally installed car-mounted cradles, and Bluetooth hands- free car systems.

Personal hands-free devices consist of an earpiece and microphone that connects to your phone either by wires or by a wireless connection such as Bluetooth, enabling you to talk without having to hold the phone to your ear.

Wired personal hands-free devices:

Pros

• Cheap
• Leave hands free for driving
• Provide protection from radiation emitted from phone handset

Cons

• Wires can get accidentally unplugged
• Wires may get in the way of driving or other movement
• The phone can only be a limited distance away from you at any time
• Unless your phone has voice dialing you still need to use the phone’s key-pad and display
• Your phone does not get charged as you use it

Bluetooth personal hands free devices have essentially the same functionality as the wired version but without the wires.

Pros

• No wires to get unplugged or tangled
• Freedom of movement
• Bluetooth headsets are often interchangeable between different phones

Cons

• More expensive than wired versions
• Headset needs charging and batteries can run flat
• Need a more advanced phone to allow for the connectivity to the Bluetooth headset
• Your phone does not get charged as you use it

Plug and play cradles plug into your vehicle’s cigarette lighter. The speaker is either built into the phone cradle or is on a separate cable which is positioned on the side of the car’s centre console. It has a separate microphone. Some kits require separate mounting clips or a console.

Pros

• Easy to install
• Non permanent and can be moved between vehicles
• Charges phone battery when in cradle
• Good sound quality
• Often not too expensive to buy

Cons

• Can be messy and not very conveniently located depending on the location of the cigarette lighter socket
• Typically specific to a phone model so can’t be used for other types of phones

Car mounted cradles are fitted either permanently or semi-permanently to your dashboard, providing a convenient, secure place for your phone that is easy to see and reach.

Pros

• Phone is charged while in the car cradle
• Improved sound quality; some models connect to the car’s existing sound system and mute the sound automatically when a call comes through
• External microphone close to the drive gives superior sound pickup
• Hands are free to drive
• Phone securely held
• Some models have external aerial attachments which give you better coverage while travelling.

Cons

• Can be expensive
• Often specific to the brand or make of phone that you have. Can be a problem to change or upgrade phones
• Need to be professionally installed and are permanent.

Bluetooth hands-free car systems enable you to conduct calls without needing to handle your mobile or even take it out of your pocket. Once the system is installed and paired with your mobile, it will automatically mute your car sound system when calls come in.

Pros

• Superior audio quality and microphone
• True hands-free operation with no need to handle the phone at all
• Integration into cars sound system for muting
• Extra features like playing music from your phone through the system
• Typically compatible with any phone that has Bluetooth connectivity
• Advanced voice dialing functionality
• No earpiece required

Cons

• Expensive
• Requires permanent installation by a professional and not easily removed from the vehicle
• Does not charge the phone battery.

For more information visit the Mobile Business Research Pavilion

By Kylie Jurgensen

Top Safety Tips

If you must combine mobile phones and driving, the following tips may help to make the roads safer for everyone:

• Keep it in perspective: unless the call/message is worth dying for, it can wait until you get to your destination or have found a safe place to pull over.
• On longer journeys, plan for times and places where you can stop to check messages and return calls.
• Never dial or send/receive text or email while driving. Pull over, ask a passenger to do it for you, or use voice-activated dialling.
• If you must make a call, pull off onto a side street or car park or take the nearest motorway exit.
• Use a headset, so that you can keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road or invest in a hands-free kit, preferably one that is voice activated.
• Use customisable keys, voice activation and speed dial to ensure that you can access frequently dialled numbers either by speaking or by pressing a single button.
• Set up your voicemail so that you can activate it by voice or speed dial and program a pause after the number followed by your password to minimise the keys you need to press. Most mobile phones will allow you to program pauses using a “p” or a comma.
• Increase the volume on your speakerphone so that you can both hear and be heard without having to adjust sound levels en route.
• Don’t try to carry on a phone conversation in areas of poor or low coverage. The resultingfrustration leads to much higher levels of distraction and greatly increases your chances of having an accident.
• Don’t make or take calls on bridges, narrow roads or in tunnels, when you’re in heavy traffic, near an intersection, or exiting/entering a highway.