We’ve all seen careless drivers, chatting away on a cell phone in traffic, and sometimes even dialing numbers or checking text messages while negotiating tricky intersections. It’s easy to see how using a cell phone in traffic can be distracting, and potentially lead to increased accidents on the road. But several new studies are showing a different kind of threat from using a cell phone in your car.
A recent study conducted by the British military found that EMR, or electric magnetic radiation, emitted from cell phones can interrupt the brain’s ability to process certain information, leading to memory problems and disorientation.
The same study showed that drivers who had recently made a cell phone call continued to be at a heightened risk of accidents on the road for up to 20 minutes after they had finished the call. This suggests that it is not just the distraction of talking on a phone while driving that is dangerous, but that the radiation emitted from the phone temporarily interrupts the driver’s ability to process complicated information, a skill that is necessary when driving.
Along with the confusion that can result from talking on a cell phone, studies have also found that mobile phone use affects physical coordination when driving a car. A separate study conducted by the US Department of Energy determined that using a cell phone interrupted normal memory patterns in the brain and slowed physical reaction times.
Many people would assume that the answer to this problem is to simply use a hands-free system to talk on the phone while driving. After all, this keeps the cell phone itself far away from your brain, right? Wrong.
Studies have found that speaker free phones actually cause more accidents than standard cell phones. Researchers theorize that this is because hands-free or “Bluetooth” devices emit up to 10 times as much electromagnetic radiation as standard handheld phones.
Despite many studies determining that electromagnetic radiation from cell phones is dangerous, cellular phone companies and manufacturers downplay the effects of the problem. But many governments and institutions around the world are taking the threat of EMR much more seriously. The government of New Zealand, for example, has forbid the construction of wireless phone towers in areas near public schools. The Canadian government is also considering legislation to outlaw cell phone towers in school zones.
It is impossible to say how much damage is actually being done by radiation from cell phones, but for the moment many experts advise caution. Use a cell phone for shorter periods of time, and by all means, do not use your phone in the car — the statistics show that it is simply an accident waiting to happen.
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