Think Hands Free Phones Make Driving Safer? Think Again.

Peter Martin, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the University of Utah Traffic Lab, says the new study shows "cell phones not only make driving dangerous, they cause delay, too."

In recent years, Strayer's research group has published studies showing that:

• Hands-free cell phones are no less dangerous while driving than hand-held cell phones because the conversation itself is the major distraction.
• When young adults talk on cell phones while driving, their reaction time becomes as slow as reaction time for senior citizens.
• Drivers talking on cell phones are as impaired as drivers with the 0.08 percent blood alcohol level that defines drunken driving in most states.

Highway statistics suggest drivers on cell phones are four times more likely to be in an accident, and Strayer's earlier research suggests the risk is 5.36 times greater.

The researchers note that 50 countries have adopted laws banning hand-held phones while driving. But they say hands-free phone conversations are distracting, too.