What makes talking on the phone while driving more dangerous than talking to another passenger in your car? Does talking on speaker-phone mitigate any of this risk?

Question

What makes talking on the phone while driving more dangerous than talking to another passenger in your car? Does talking on speaker-phone mitigate any of this risk?

In: 26

Answer 1

Talking to someone while driving – even a passenger in your car – reduces the amount of attention you have available to the road.

Talking to someone on the phone handsfree while driving still carries this risk, on top of the other person not knowing what’s going on around you, so they’re less able to shut up and allow you to focus on the road as needed as a passenger could.

Talking on a phone the “normal” way means you have one less hand on the wheel, making your ability to react to situations worse, on top of the two distractions already mentioned.

So, using speakerphone or bluetooth is safer than holding your phone while driving, but still not great.