Hands-Free Car Kits Reduce Distraction

(MS) - What do the following people have in common: student,  soccer mom, sales person, business executive?

They all spend a lot of time driving, whether it’s to and from school or the office, making sales calls or going shopping. And, most of the time, they’re doing a lot of other things -like eating or talking on their cell phones in their cars - while driving. And that is a concern.

Driver Distraction Causes Accidents

A landmark study released by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute documented that 80 percent of traffic accidents are caused by driver distraction and that young drivers were four times more likely to be involved in a crash. The study showed that about 65 percent of near-crashes stemmed from driver inattention in the three seconds before the event.

Reaching for a moving object, such as a coffee mug rolling around or a cell phone on the floor or a map in the back sea, was the most dangerous distraction, making a driver nine times more likely to be in a crash or near-crash. Applying makeup makes drivers three times more likely to be in an accident, which is slightly more dangerous than dialing a cell phone (except for teenagers, whose distraction level while talking on the cell phone far exceeds that of adults).

Young Drivers at Most Risk

The increasing use of cell phones while driving is a major concern.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported in 2005 that at any time of day six percent of drivers on U.S. roads were using hand-held phones - double the rate that was observed five years ago. The highest phone use rate (10 percent) was among drivers between the ages of 16 and 24. And when the new figures come out this year, they’ll more than likely be much higher.

“It’s troubling that the youngest drivers are the most likely to be talking on phones,” says Ed Valdez, president of Parrot, the world’s leading manufacturer of Bluetooth hands-free car kits. “These drivers already have higher crash rates than older drivers, including higher fatal crash rates, and the last thing they need is the distraction of using a phone.”

Reflecting the growing concern about cell phones, cities and states are scrambling to impose restrictions on cell phone use by drivers. It is illegal to use a hand-held phone while driving in Connecticut,  New Jersey, New York,  the District of Columbia and in the city of Chicago. Ten states and the District of Columbia limit the use of any kind of phone by teenage drivers, while similar restrictions apply to school bus drivers as well. In addition, hands-free laws will take effect in California and Washington state in 2008.

Hands-free Devices More Popular

To reduce distraction and comply with the new laws,  consumers are choosing wireless, Bluetooth® hands-free devices that allow them to use their phones without having to hold them.

“Our month over month sales continue to climb, reflecting a growing need for consumers to make a smart choice while driving,” says Valdez. “Drivers need to keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel and our hands-free car kits help them do that.”

There are three types of hands-free devices motorists can use with a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone. Thus far, the most popular devices feature true voice recognition technology that allows drivers to make and take phone calls with voice commands. The three types of hands-free devices are:

• Portable,  battery-powered devices that have an integrated speaker, such as the Parrot MINIKIT, which simply clips to a vehicle’s sun visor.
• Wireless headsets and ear buds which people use both in and out of their vehicle.
• A professionally-installed car kit that is integrated into a vehicle’s sound system and works through its speakers.
  

The latter is the best solution because it takes advantage of the vehicle’s audio system and automatically mutes the music for an incoming call for superior audio quality. However, for frequent travelers who use rental cars - or those who want to use a hands-free device in multiple vehicles - a portable device might be a better solution.
   
Car Kit Features to Consider

Depending on the model selected, installed car kits like those from Parrot come with an LCD display that shows caller I.D. and the cell phone directory, while some even feature a GPS antenna that broadcasts the driver’s location to the display on a smartphone, PDA or laptop. Some car kits hold up to 1000 contacts and take 150 voice tags, which allow the use of voice commands to make and take calls.

Car kits range in price from about $50 on the basic entry-level Bluetooth headset, to $80 for a portable speakerphone device, to $300- $400 for a full-featured car kit with installation. Available at most major consumer electronics retailers, car kits can also be found online at www.crutchfield.com.

With the wide availability and price range of hands-free devices, there’s really no excuse to keep juggling a phone while driving or trying to drive while you hold it between your head and shoulder. As research continues to indicate, the distraction of dialing a cell phone while driving -  or searching for it when it falls on the floor -can put you, your passengers and others at serious, not to mention unnecessary, risk.