Texting And Driving: Why Can’t We Keep Our Fingers Off It?


At this point we’ve all seen the Oprah specials*, we’ve all had ‘the talk’ with our parents (who then continue with the ‘where are you?’ messages -__-) and ‘know’ that it is an exceedingly terrible decision to send or read a cheeky text whilst driving. Not only that, countless dollars have now been spent on campaigns and education worldwide to get people to ‘hands where I can see em’ and slowly put the phone down.

So then why? After knowing how potentially dangerous sending ‘on my way c u soon’ could be, do us youths persist in phone fiddling whilst in transit? Surely there must be a kooky brain related reason why a 2010 study by AAMI found that 61% of drivers aged between 18-24 admitted to having sent or received a text whilst driving, compared to 32% of drivers aged over 25 years who admitted to the same.

*In case anyone missed it:



Couldn’t find the episode. Sry.

Just as a refresher, the current legislation in Australia is as follows:

. It is illegal in all Australian states and territories to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving. This includes talking, texting, playing games, taking photos or video and using other phone functions.

. Using a hand-held mobile phone is also illegal when your vehicle is stationary but not parked (when stopped at a traffic light).

. It is illegal to use a hands-free phone while driving if it causes you to lose proper control of your vehicle.

. Learner and P1 drivers are not permitted to use a hand-held or hands-free mobile phone while driving.

So, there. Now you know.

The issue with that? It’s not the easiest for the po’ to enforce such laws, as it is prosecution relies on them spotting a phone in your hand, all the while said hand is travelling at approximately 60 kilometres per hour. Then, once you’ve quickly stashed the phone after being pulled over, the other problem is how to prove that you were talking to someone and not just jamming out solo to your ‘Driving Playlist :P’.

Is it lack of awareness or lack of giving a h*ck that’s to blame for the high rates of texting while driving? We recently had the pleasure of chatting with Dr Shari Walsh who, whilst at uni doing Honours in Psychology became fascinated by teenagers’ absorption with mobile phones. Dr Walsh then went on to complete a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) on the psychology behind phone use amongst young people, and was then awarded a grant by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to look into why people can’t get their hands off it while driving.

How would you describe people’s general attitude towards using their phone while driving?

Most people would agree it is not a good thing to do. However, one of the fascinating aspects of psychology is that people’s behaviour is often very different to their attitude.

What did you find to be the main differences between people who do and people who don’t frequently use their phone while on the road?

Basically, how important the phone was to their self-identity and how important using a mobile phone was to their friends – especially for young people. If it was a common behaviour among their social groups, they were more likely to do it. Business people who used the phone believed it was important for them to be contactable at all times etc.

Is it more of an issue with young drivers?

We found younger drivers and business people were the most likely to use their phones while driving. This seems to be consistent among the research.

Did you find any links between the types of calls/texts people were making whilst driving?

One consistency was that people viewed using their phone while driving as an effective use of their time – particularly if they were waiting at traffic lights. Staying in touch with people and letting people know information e.g., when they would arrive was also seen as important.

Did you find that people had an awareness of the dangers related to using their phone?

Yes, however, they believed the risks were fairly minimal. Also, a lot of drivers believe that they are better drivers than everyone else (this is commonly found in road safety research) so they would be less likely to be adversely affected by using their mobile phone than other people.

What main risks do most people identify as preventing them from using their mobile phone?
Having an accident and getting fined were most common although, in general, it wasn’t seen as a big risk. The motivation to use the phone would over-ride any awareness of risks.


Why do you think young people are so drawn to using their phone, even when it is socially unacceptable or even dangerous to be using it?

The fear of missing out on information and the ‘need’ to be constantly available to friends is a really strong pull. Young people particularly are highly influenced by how their friends behave and how they might look to their friends if they are different. E.g., if friends reply quickly to texts then that becomes the expected behaviour in their group and it would not be socially acceptable to be different even if there is a valid reason e.g., driving.

Would you go so far as to say some young people are addicted to their phones?

Tricky ground – addiction has a highly specific set of criteria. I believe some young people demonstrate addictive tendencies; however they are probably still functioning well. In order for it to be an addiction, the behaviour would have to be really causing a lot of problems in their daily life. I used the term ‘involvement’ rather than addiction.

Given that it can be so hard for police to enforce the current legislation against such phone use, what do you believe should be done to try and minimise the amount that people use their phones whilst driving?

Using peer pressure – e.g., campaigns like the ‘bloody idiot if you drink and drive’ or ‘arrive alive’ would probably be good.
I don’t think many people are aware that there have been some fatal accidents caused by drivers who have been using their phones. Most people think it will be minor. Publicising that there have been a number of fatalities and how it affects the family left behind may work.
Otherwise, insurance companies not paying out if people have an accident when using their phone would probably be a hindrance.

What would you say to someone who really doesn’t see the problem with being on a phone while driving?

Really hard to change their attitude. I would tell them driving is an important activity requiring their full attention. For parents – set a good example for your kids!

Thank you, Dr Walsh.

As pointed out by this piece ‘The Perils Of Multitasking,’ the term multitasking was created by IBM engineers working on the microprocessor in the 1960s in reference to the processors ability to do more than one thing at once. The punchline? Humans are actually terrible at it, regardless of gender, and should step away from the multiple tasks immediately.

In terms of everyday phone use, if you’re out with a friend and still continuously on your phone, it does send a pretty shitty message to them. Like ‘cool that you’re here right in front of me, but i’ma need to see what all of my other friends and acquaintances are doing and/or uploading.’ The same goes for driving and phone use, it comes down to the belief that what you’re doing doesn’t require your full attention and that your performance will not suffer if you’re scrolling instagram.

New research into genetics, heritability and measurable traits suggest that mobile phone use is dependent in part on your genetics. They found, when they studied pairs of twins, that “the clear implication of heritability results is that genes matter more than family environments in predicting how often people use their mobile phones to talk and text”

One of the associations they identified, was between levels of intelligence and introversion versus extroversion, when it came to the amount people use their phones. Generally speaking those inclined to extroversion, and those with lower intelligence levels, seem to use their phones more. Which makes sense given that extroverts, as discussed in the great book ‘Quiet‘, are energised by social situations and constantly interacting with other people. They also tend to be “assertive multi-taskers who think out loud and on their feet” which fits in with the idea of
the ‘extrovert ideal’ and reeks of someone who just cannot even wait because thismessageneedstobesentrightnow OHGODIFEELSOALIVE.

So, why is cellular technology so dangerous when combined with a moving vehicle? Research found that people experienced a significant loss of situational awareness, delayed or missed detection of information and events, impaired reaction times, and mind-wandering when using.
Other research found that ‘no doy.’

With further analysis of the data (“carry the two, subtract the four–“) they saw that ‘talking or listening to a hand-held mobile phone increased the risk of a near-miss or crash by 1.3 times’, but that this result was not actually statistically different than normal driving. Meanwhile, ‘reaching for moving objects increased the risk by nine times’ and dialling a hand-held mobile phone increased the risk by 2.8 times.’ So, the study showed that the action of reaching for the phone, punching in a number or texting increased the risk of a near-miss or crash by five to six times.
Which is decidedly not a great time.

Elsewhere in the world there have been calls for the creation of a built in ‘parental lock’ for phones, which would lock.it.down once the phone detected that it is going over a certain speed and for the most part seems like another thing that wouldn’t be widespread enough or that teenagers would be able to find a way around. Ultimately, if you’re legally driving a motor vehicle the idea is that you are capable of making your own decisions, yes? So surely it has to come down to personal choice and in order to make ALL of the good choices, that don’t land you a Darwin Award, it’s about reminding yourself that people with low intelligence are more likely to phone + drive and you are not a dummy.

Daily Affirmation: I am sxc, fierce and smart. I never txt ‘n drive. 



Meanwhile, in line with all of this research, and with an aim to get people thinking about how unnecessary that text really is when it comes to your safety, the ‘Get Your Hands Off It’ campaign has released another video featuring Derek (seen above). If you’re around Sydney city on Friday the 21st of February and would like to see loveable bro Derek perform live, head to place at Martin Place at 10.45am, 12.30pm and 1.30pm.

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