Drivers talking on their cell phones really pushes one of my buttons.  Why?  I’ll reveal that at the end of the following quotes.

Here’s some of an article by Matt Richtel, in yesterday’s New York Times, .

“The compulsion to work while driving often trumps clear evidence that such activity is dangerous.  Studies show that someone who talks on the phone while driving is four times more likely to crash, even using a hands-free headset, than someone who is simply driving.  The risks are even greater when sending text messages. …

“Researchers say there is another reason to question the benefits of working behind the wheel: a growing body of research shows that splitting attention between activities like working and driving often leads to distracted conversations and bad decisions.

“‘There is an illusion of productivity,’ said David E. Meyer, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan.  ‘It’s actually counterproductive.’

“‘To the extent that someone is focused on driving, the quality of work product is diminished,’ he added.  ‘To the extent someone is focused on work and not driving, there’s a risk of crashing and burning.  Something’s got to give.’ …

According to research cited in the article, that using a “hands-free” device is no safer than holding a cell phone.  Drivers using their phones are putting others’ lives in danger not because they are holding a phone, but because they are paying attention to the conversation.  When you talk on the phone while driving, your danger of a crash is the same as it would be were you driving drunk.

Endangering human life is the chief ethical evil of this practice.  But, according to the article, it is not the only reason to avoid phone conversation while driving:

“There might be another reason for drivers to reconsider working behind the wheel: a growing body of studies suggest that such work may be less valuable than many people assume.

“The reason, researchers say, is that the brain can effectively perform only one difficult task at a time.

“Mr. Meyer, the Michigan professor, found that when someone tried to multitask, important neural regions must switch back and forth, taking time and creating inefficiences.

“That can be particularly dangerous, of course, when a driver suddenly feels the tires slipping on an icy road in the middle of a phone call.  But that 2001 study, and numerous others, also show that multitasking motorists can pay another price — in the quality of their work.

“In 2006, for instance, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, used brain imging to show that multitaskers were less effective learners.

“According to that research, a person focused on a single task remembers what he has learned using the hippocampus, a part of the brain critical to storing and recalling information.

“But when that person multitasks — like trying to learn something new while driving — the brain relies more on the striatum, a part of the brain used more for learning motor skills.

“The researchers concluded, ‘Don’t multitask while you are trying to learn something new you hope to remember.’

“‘The brain is fundamentally built to unitask,’ said Clifford Nass, a communications professor at Stanford, where he is also a co-director of a new automotive research laboratory.

“That limitation can put drivers at a disadvantage if they are negotiating with someone who, say, is in an office and less distracted.

“Driving, Mr. Nass said, taxes the parts of the brain that make it more difficult to appreciate nuances of a conversation.  ‘A person is much more manipulatable when they’re behind the wheel,’ he said.

“Mr. Nass said that the counterproductive effects can linger after the ride. Research shows that the brains of heavy multitaskers can become so accustomed to hopping from task to task that they have trouble focusing on longer, more in-depth ones.”

So.

Remind me: what’s the advantage of using the cell phone while driving?

I am frightened when I am driving and I see other drivers talking on their phones — and even worse, texting. 

But at least, then, I am in a car too.

But when I am on my bicycle and I see drivers doing that, I’m TERRIFIED.