Why Hands Free is Safer then Hand Held Phone (Download)

Guess what we dreamed up today...

Preamble In The News Press Releases Contact Us Investors Links International

Hand Free is Not Safer then Hand Held? Wrong! Download this Article

Many cell phone users are familiar with news reports and research discussing the safety of a hands free cellular phone while driving. These studies, such as the research done by the University of Utah, aim to prove that even hands free cellular phones are unsafe for driving. The goal is to characterize driver distraction as being “all in your head”

At Applikompt, we disagree strongly with this conclusion. Carrying out a conversation is not a purely cognitive exercise. We are physical beings and even talking on a cell phone demands physical or physiological responses from the driver. The key is being able to safely carry on a conversation while driving. Our research is conducted on the road by observing real drivers making cellular phone calls - artificial scenarios that support other studies are simply that: artificial.

The problem with hand held devices begin with the very nature of the product- hand held devices require the driver to move in order use them. Additionally, they require the driver to maintain an uncomfortable position or move to support their arms using the parts of the car, whether it is leaning on the window or an armrest. This movement changes the driver’s viewing ability on the road by:

o Increasing the side/rear blind spot from the cell phone side

o Nullifying adjustments made to the rear and side view mirrors, increasing driver disconnect from the traffic.

o Changes the forward looking perspective of the driver and creates a front blind spot

The other effect of holding the phone in one hand while attempting to steer with the other hand is that it creates a conflict in the "motor feed back" of both arms, resulting in:

o Poor communication with other drivers (no turn signals)

o No activation of essential equipment in a timely manner (horn, lights, windshield wipers)

o No steering control, (Hands Free Steering), as cell phone users find it necessary to respond to their driving environment, respond to a physical need or even taking a puff from cigarette.

Another observation we feel compelled to share is what we term, "Hand Held Confusion". In this phenomenon, drivers hold the phone in one hand but they use it on the ear at the opposite side of their bodies, thus increasing the complexity of the motor and cognitive skills required.

Cognitive distraction is real, but not for the first few minutes after the call is already in progress. Additionally, this distraction is different and unique to each individual event, caller, conversation in addition to the DrivingSystemTM variables of Man, Machine, Environment, History and Regulation.

What we experience in every activity we take part in is what we term as a CognoMotorTM activity, and our success or failure in this activity is a relative result that depends on skills in the cognitive and motor skills involved.

The results of our research show that distraction is a byproduct of the driving environment and is a response to the DrivingSystem™.

This is also why many other universities are following in our footsteps in creating and researching an integrated driving system. UMTRI along with the NHTSA are working on IVBSS.

European institutions are also working on similar projects. Like their American counterparts, they recently began to follow In our footsteps and create an integrated driving system instead of segregating the problems into individual phenomenon, e.g., sleepiness, speeding, distraction, etc. Example programs would be the PReVENT project. Links are available on this website to many of these academic and Governmental programs.

In our footsteps is a phrase that deserves explanation. Our first in vehicle personal PC was in 1985, before the term “telematics” was invented by our German colleagues. We are not talking about a “pie in the sky” article, nor are we discussing science-fiction. We have worked on this project using at least two different brands of PCs with the full aim of avoiding driver distraction while maintaining the usability of telematic devices. Our research also aims to create a system to provide smart assistance to the driver and use "text-to-speech" technology. Other inventions are today's big buzz, e.g. blind spot detection, tire pressure monitoring, pay at the pump and so on.

Luckily we still have the check sheets, NDAs and the software and hardware that we used at the time and since then in preparing and waiting for the market to respond to our forward vision. In the meantime we absorbed the additional experience from using and testing our theories on the roads and around the world daily.

Our solution, STMCGateway, is simple, effective, reliable, and scalable. It was not developed in dark rooms playing with video games, nor was it created by a committee. It was a vision that was nurtured and discussed with our focus group and confirmed over two decades and benefited from exposure to various disciplines.

To know more, call Mr. Naboulsi directly on 001 248/388-0211 or e-mail him on manaboulsi AT actplace DOT net.

Download this Article