Report claims mobile phones contriute to traffic congestion

Salt Lake City (UT) - People who talk on their mobile phones while driving are less likely to pass other drivers and travel more slowly on the freeway, according to a study from the University of Utah.

The study consisted of 36 undergraduate psychology students who were put through driving simulations. They went through simulations with low, medium, and high density traffic. Each student went through each of these twice - once with a hands-free phone and once without.

Part of the simulation also included other lanes to see when and if the participants would change lanes to pass a sluggish car in front of them. The results showed fairly overwhelmingly that, even with a hands-free set, chatting over cell phones caused total trip time to be longer than the cases with no phones, according to the study.

"At the end of the day, the average person’s commute is longer because of that person who is on the cell phone right in front of them," said Professor Dave Strayer, who teaches psychology and led the research team.

Based on a survey of multiple insurance companies, an estimated 73% of cell phone owners talk while driving.

Anne McCartt, senior VP of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, noted it is not really feasible to translate the study statistics to real life. However, she said, "we all agree that talking on a cell phone while driving increases the risk of having a crash."