Driving is a demanding activity in terms of attention resources. In this sense, the use of substances that reduce our abilities such as alcohol , or distractors of any kind such as using the telephone , play an important role in the safety with which we drive the vehicle. A large number of traffic accidents is due precisely to the use of the telephone while driving.
Ronggang Zhou and other collaborators from the School of Economics and Management at Beihang University in China, refer to the small amount of existing studies about the mechanisms that humans use to regulate the distraction that the telephone can suppose and how they are maintained. adequate levels of security. How does the person regulate their behavior to maintain a certain level of safe driving while using the mobile? A study carried out by Zhou and his team examines the role of so-called compensatory thoughts , of the type ‘I can make a call while driving because it will be a short conversation’.
The researchers evaluated behaviors such as making calls, taking phone calls, or writing or answering text messages. It was analyzed whether these behaviors could be associated with certain compensatory behaviors that reduce the perception of risk by drivers . This type of compensatory behavior would include stopping the car, slowing down or increasing the safety distance, although they do not always occur in all drivers who use their mobile while driving their car.
The results, recently published in the journal PLoS ONE (2016), found that participants who were more likely to use this type of compensatory behavior also reported a higher frequency of traffic accidents . According to the statistical analyzes carried out, having this type of ideas and behaviors predicts the use of the mobile phone at the wheel, especially when making short calls .
It is important to emphasize the importance of maintaining good attention while driving a car, and to make the population aware that any small distraction can pose a risk of accident. Studies like this add science to the advice already provided and hopefully serve to contribute to greater caution behind the wheel.
Marisa Fernández Sánchez, Senior Neuropsychologist, Unobrain
