Road safety studies underscores the significant risks posed by mobile phone use, and draws parallels with mobile phone use onboard.
Numerous studies have explored how phone use, both handheld and hands-free, affects driver behaviour. Understanding these parallels is crucial to raising the awareness among seafarers about the potential for similar impairments and risks to safety when using phones during shipboard operations.
Some of the key findings from road safety studies underlined are:
#1 Slower to react
Worse than legal intoxication: Drivers using mobile phones (handheld or handsfree) had 30% slower reaction times than drivers impaired by alcohol at a 0.08 blood alcohol concentration, which is the legal intoxication limit in many countries.
#2 Prolonged night vision impairment after mobile phone use
It typically takes about 5 minutes for your eyes to adjust to night driving after using a lit phone screen, and it can take up to 30 minutes for full adaptation, allowing you to see objects in the dark. This is especially important to consider for crew members on watch who might use their phones at night.
#3 The Illusion of a quick text
Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph (88 kph), that is like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.
#4 Increased risk of accidents: a tangible consequence
The combination of slowed reaction times, impaired vision, cognitive distraction, and reduced vehicle control directly translates to a significantly higher risk of being involved in an accident. Studies consistently demonstrate a substantial increase in collision rates for drivers using mobile phones compared to those who are not.
#5 Cognitive tunnelling: conversations hijack focus
Drivers are particularly distracted by a conversation which encourages them to visualize what they are talking about. This type of conversations led to ‘cognitive tunnelling’ and deteriorated driving performance, suggesting that it is the conversation itself that distracts the driver from the driving task.
Key recommendations
The risk control options discussed in these guidelines and circulars published by various governmental bodies as follows:
- Raising awareness among seafarers of how personal electronic devices can lead to distraction is vital. By comprehending the mechanisms and potential dangers, they are more likely to avoid using these devices during operational periods.
- Restricting/prohibiting the use of personal distraction-causing devices by key personnel in key working spaces.
- Restricting the use of personal distraction-causing devices during working hours, irrespective of location.
- Restricting the use of such devices by non-key personnel in key working spaces. This can limit the distraction caused to key personnel.
- Limiting the use of these devices for business during working hours and from working spaces.
- Looking into the onboard communication systems setup and optimising it for crew members in order to limit distractions.
- Strategic placing of computers in key working spaces to ensure that working with these devices is kept within a safe limit.
- To prevent bridge team distraction during critical port approaches, restrict the use of mobile devices in designated zones like pilotage waters, and refer to this in the vessel’s voyage plan. Areas like the mooring station, cargo control room, engine control room can also be designated as such.
While establishing procedures and processes, and raising awareness among the crew is important, it is crucial to emphasize that this alone may not be enough. Companies must also prioritize raising crew awareness regarding the distracting potential of these devices and verify that the established procedures are being followed.