Cell Phones - Are They a Safety Hazard ?

1. just live it Cell Phones - Are They a Safety Hazard ?

2. just live it Mobile Phone and Radio Waves • Use of cell phones exposes you to “non-ionizing” radiations • Transmitted from the base stations: not in your control • From your phone: within your control • Radio waves are a form of energy or power • May create interferences with electronic equipment • Power is limited by construction and certification • UK Limit: SAR Specific Absorption Rate <0.1watt/10g tissue) • Prolonged exposure will raise body temperature by 1 deg. C • What is a safe limit? Nobody knows today!

3. just live it Studies on Mobile Phone Safety • A recent UK report (2001) stated that : • “radio emissions below current guidelines might have biological effects”. • “if there is a group particularly at risk – it is children” • Hand-Free option (pocket to ear cable): • increase radiation level by a factor of3 • There are currently 20 studies worldwide investigating the influence of mobile phone radiation on humans

4. just live it Mobile Phone & Explosion Risk • Many known incidents, like… • Gas flash fire when answering a call while working. • Explosions at gas stations due to mobile phone • Radio waves, the phone battery: forms of energy... • Energy can trigger an explosion, or start-up a fire • Radio silence on rigs when dealing with explosives! • Apply the same principle in any dangerous area! • Gas stations, planes, explosive/chemical stores, rigs, etc…

5. just live it ! Whatever it is, if it is deemed more important than driving . . . . STOP ? What are you doing behind the wheel of your car

6. just live it The Survey Says • 81% of drivers believe that it is dangerous to use cell phones while driving. • 61% of them admitted that they still do it. • 30% of them admitted to talking on the phone frequently.

7. just live it Mobile Phone and Driving • Talking on a cell phone while driving increases the risk of an accident by a factor 4. • The increased risk is comparable to driving while impaired by alcohol. Increased response time to unexpected events Increased cases of non-response to unexpected events

8. just live it From the Psychological Science * "The principal findings for this experiment are that: (a) SPs (Study Participants) that engaged in cell phone conversations missed twice as many simulated traffic signals as when they were not talking on the cell phone, (b) SPs took longer to react to those signals that they did detect, and (c) these deficits were equivalent for both hand-held and hands-free cell phone users. In sum … either a hand-held or hands-free … led to significant decrements in simulated driving performance … initiatives that restrict hand-held devices but permit hands-free devices are not likely to reduce interference from the phone conversation..." *Psychological Science - journal of the American Psychological Society, Nov01

9. just live it It is not the dexterity required to use a cell phone that causes the increased risk of an accident, but the drivers inability to allocate attention It is not whether you have both hands on the wheel that matters, but rather whether you have all of your mind on the task at hand, i.e. Driving Hands Free Vs. Hand Held

10. just live it Expect the unexpected • This is real footage from a traffic camera in Rio de Janeiro • The driver of this car, his wife, and his child were all killed • The driver was on his cell phone . . . He was not expecting the unexpected . . . He was not driving defensively !

11. just live it Cell Phones Vs. Passenger • A passenger can also see the high risk situations developing and stop the conversation. • Conversations on cell phones tend to be more intense than face to face. • While talking on the phone your mind tends to wander to the setting at the other end of the phone line.

12. just live it What’s Coming… • Increasing number of countries instituting laws restricting the use of cell phones while driving ( e.g. Brazil, Israel, Switzerland, Malaysia, Singapore…). • Lawyers are preying on accident victims and using verifiable cell phone use to prove a condition of negligence. • New higher tech phones are adding many more features which will further distract drivers.

13. just live it Conclusions from the Studies • All forms of cell phone usage lead to significant increases in non-response to highway situations and increases in response times. • Complex intense conversations lead to the greatest increase in risk • Business calls tend to be more intense than social calls. • Prior experience with cell phones appears to bear no relation to the distracting effect of cell phone use.

14. just live it OFS Cell Phone Standard • Driversshould neither initiate nor answer phone calls whilst driving. • The use of hands free device is forbidden. Mobile phones can be left on during the trip to alert the driver of any incoming calls. If it is deemed necessary to return the call immediately, the driver should leave the road and bring the vehicle to a complete and safe stop before doing so. ….Journey Management & Driving standard – S001…

15. just live it Testimonial • Last year a Schlumberger driver was traveling in heavy traffic on a Louisiana highway when his phone rang. He asked one of his 4 passengers to answer it. Just seconds after the passenger answered, the truck in front stopped sharply. The SLB driver immediately noticed a vehicle approaching from the rear at a high rate of speed. The driver was able to brake suddenly and swerve onto the shoulder just before the following vehicle plowed into the back of the slowing truck. The other vehicle and driver were in bad shape after the collision. • If the SLB driver had taken the time to answer his phone he probably would not have recognized the sudden dangers and may have been seriously rear-ended, potentially injuring all four occupants

16. just live it Call for help . . . when broken-down when stuck when lost Positives of Cell Phones Call to 911 to report an accident, if in danger, or if you need to report a dangerous situation

17. just live it Conclusions • Positives of Cell Phones • Communication, call for help, etc.. • Negative of Cell Phones • Potential of Radiation effect & trigger of explosion • Distraction while driving can be catastrophic • Schlumberger position • Driversshould neither initiate nor answer phone calls whilst driving. • The use of hands free device is forbidden.