Telstra will not support laws banning the use of mobile phone hands-free kits in vehicles, ignoring concerns of safety advocates who point to research showing they don't provide a safe alternative to holding a phone while driving.

Releasing statistics showing many motorists continue to break laws banning the use of handheld phones while driving, the telco recommended that drivers use a hands-free kit if they need to make a phone call while behind the wheel as part of its Easter Drive Safe.Phone Safe campaign.

"What we're about is education and that's educating people about the safe and responsible use of phones inside vehicles to ensure that they comply with the law and minimise the risks to both themselves and other road users," said Telstra business and government spokesperson, Chris Newlan.

"It's logical that taking one hand off the wheel and having a conversation at the same time is unsafe," he added.

Richard Hockey of Queensland Injuries Surveillance Unit (QISU) at Brisbane's Mater hospital said Telstra's recommendation contradicts studies carried out around the globe indicating that using hands-free kits also poses a significant risk to road safety.

"If you say that you can't have a handheld phone but you say it's okay to have a hands-free phone then you're really indicating by implication that one is safe and one isn't--research indicates it isn't the case, both are just as unsafe," said Hockey.

Recent research on the effects of mobile phones on driver performance conducted by Griffith University in collaboration with the Holden Performance Driving Centre (HPRC) supports Hockey's position.

"What [Telstra] saying is pretty trivial," said Paul Treffner, Associate Professor at Griffith University's School of Information Technology. "They're saying 'it's not a good thing to hold the phone' but you're still going to have an increased chance of an accident.

"It's old knowledge now that handheld or hands-free it [doesn't] make a difference--either case is bad and increases your chances of having an accident."

Telstra's Newlan claims that to date, research on the issue is not conclusive and reports obtained by the NRMA indicated that hands-free kits are safer because they allowed drivers to keep both hands on the wheel.

Having attracted support from the NRMA and praise from Police for its campaign initiative, Newlan said Telstra would not favour laws to ban the use of all mobiles in vehicles. However Telstra cautioned mobile users to minimise use of their handsets while driving.

"The proper response is that we don't support it. We are advising motorists to if they need to use the phone, they should pull over to the side of the road in a safe place to either send an SMS message or make a call," he said.

Look ma, no hands

According to Griffith University's Treffner it's not the holding of the mobile phone that's the problem--it's the conversation. He said using a mobile phone impacts on optical centres of the brain used to perceive depth and distance that are critical for driving.

QISU's Hockey has gathered a large collection of research from insurance groups and medical authorities published over the last five to six years that support Treffner's findings.

According to studies published by Direct Line Motor Insurance (DLMI) in March 2002, the belief that using a hands-free kit while driving was safe and no more dangerous than listening to the radio or talking to a passenger is a "popular myth". It claimed the danger "was grossly under-exposed" in the media.

The DLMI report, used by the New South Wales government to justify increased fines for mobile phone driving offences introduced last July, found that using a handheld phone while driving impaired motorist reaction times by 1.5 seconds--about half a second slower than a driver under the influence of alcohol. However, the government did not point out that driver reaction time using a hands-free kit was only marginally better at 1.4 seconds.

Similarly, a New England Medical journal study examining the relationship between mobile phones and motor vehicle collisions released in 1997 found no reason to support the use of hands-free kits while banning handheld phone use.

"We observed no safety advantage to hands-free as compared with handheld telephones...our data does not support the policy followed in some countries of restricting handheld cellular phones but not those that leave the hands free," wrote authors of the report Dr. Donald Redelmeier and Dr. Robert Tibshirani.

QISU's Hockey said Australian legislators need to take another look at the issue of mobile phone usage in vehicles.

Last July, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) published a comprehensive report on the use of mobile phones in cars. It found that drivers using handheld phones took an extra 14 metres to react to a road hazard than when not--drivers using hands-free kits took an extra 8 metres.

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