Hands-Free Phones Just as Dangerous as Handheld Devices? How Phone Calls Can Increase The Risk Of Traffic Accidents

A lot of people think that using a hands-free phone fixes the problem of texting while driving, but this may not be the case. Researchers from the University of Sussex in England have found that the use of hands-free phones may be just as distracting as handheld ones.

The researchers have found that when drivers have conversations over the phone, they visually imagine what is going on in the conversation. This is distracting especially when operating an automotive vehicle.

A study was conducted wherein one group was undistracted while another group was asked questions that require visual imagery. The distracted group reacted considerably slower to hazards and noticed them less while they were driving.

The study shows that the part of the brain used for this type of imagination is the same part of the brain used to watch the road. While on the phone, attention is divided, which could spell trouble. A simple question such as "Where is the blue file?" makes the driver concentrate on an area on the road four times smaller than normal because they are imagining where they left the file, the study says.

The findings of this study make a strong case for banning every type of phone from being used by the driver of a car, hands-free or not, says the BBC News. It is already illegal to use a handheld device while operating a motorized vehicle. If a driver is using a hands-free device, they may still be penalized if they are deemed distracted.

So does this mean that driver's have to have absolute silence in order to concentrate on the road? A report from Live Science states that this does not have to be the case since the study has revealed that chatty passengers pose less of a threat compared to a phone call.