Cell Phone Distraction vs. Alcohol on a Bicycle Course
Hard
Does talking on a cell phone impair cycling more than alcohol does? Ten participants ride a cone-lined bicycle course under three conditions: sober with no phone, sober while talking on a hands-free phone, and after drinking to the legal blood-alcohol limit of 0.08 percent.
You count how many cones each rider knocks down in each round. Sober riders hit very few. Riders using a phone knocked down slightly more cones on average than those who were intoxicated.
The results suggest that phone conversation may distract riders as much as -- or more than -- moderate alcohol impairment.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that riding a bicycle using a cell phone is more dangerous than riding while intoxicated.
Method & Materials
You will prepare a cycling course in a car park, assign 10 participants a number, and have them cycle the course one person at a time. You will also have them navigate the course while talking on a cell phone, and while intoxicated.
You will need an unused section of the car park, 10 male participants aged 20 and above, 40 roadside cones, 3 dozen cans of beer, 2 cell phones with hands-free earpieces, 1 bicycle, 1 breath analyzer, and 1 measuring tape (at least 20 meters long).
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See what’s includedResults
The results show that using the cell phone while riding a bicycle leads to a slightly higher incidence of knocking down roadside cones, compared to riding whilst intoxicated. The hypothesis that using a cell phone while riding is more dangerous than riding whilst intoxicated is proven to be true.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it compares the dangers of driving while using a cell phone and while intoxicated. It also shows that using hands-free devices is just as much a distraction as hand-held phones.
Also Consider
Experiment variations to consider include having the participants eat or drink while cycling, and comparing the performance between male and female participants, whilst using their cellphones or whilst intoxicated.
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.Related videos
These videos explain the science behind this project and demonstrate key concepts used in the experiment.
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