MEDIA ADVISORY: KU expert on driver distraction available to comment on NTSB recommendation

LAWRENCE -- The National Transportation Safety Board today urged all states to quickly pass laws that prohibit inexperienced drivers from driving while using a cell phone. A University of Kansas expert in driver distraction is available to comment on the recommendation.

Paul Atchley, assistant professor of psychology at KU, conducts cognitive studies on driver distraction. His research found that driving while talking on a hands-free cell phone was no safer than driving while cradling the phone between your neck and shoulder.

"It's not the actual holding onto the object that's important, it's the planning of the conversation, which takes away resources from attending to the road," he said.

Atchley and his colleagues also found that the average person is capable of dividing his or her attention among only four objects at any given time.

"One aspect that disturbs me is the idea that people think they have a right to have a cell phone," he said. "It's not your right if it's a public-safety issue."

A previous KU news release on the use of hands-free cell phones is available online.