Voice activated texting while driving no safer than using hands

A new study says voice texting is just as dangerous as using your hands (AP)Going hands free on your mobile device to send a text is no less dangerous than the traditional method, according to a new university study.

In fact, the risk is nearly identical, cutting reaction time for drivers in half.

?We believe it?s a useful step, and we?re eager to see what other studies may find,? said Christine Yager, who led the study for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI).

The study was conducted as part of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

A number of unsettling statistics have come out recently as part of the ongoing effort to help reduce the behavior called ?distracted driving.?

In March, a study found that adults are actually far more likely to text while driving than their teen counterparts. And another study released in early April found that daydreaming while driving results in thousands of fatal car accidents each year.

For its study, TTI tested 47 drivers on a closed course to measure their reaction times while using the two most popular voice-controlled texting applications, Siri and Vlingo.

The drivers went around the closed course three times: Once while not using their phone at all, once while texting with their hands and once while texting by voice. A stoplight appeared at random intervals while the drivers made their way around the course and the researchers compared how long it took the drivers to respond.

?Driver response times were significantly delayed no matter which texting method was used. In each case, drivers took about twice as long to react as they did when they weren?t texting,? an excerpt from the study reads.

Interestingly, drivers reported that they felt safer when texting via voice versus with their hands. However, the study found that texting by hand was actually slightly faster than texting by voice, along with posing the same general amount of risk.

The study did not specify why voice texting posed the same risk. But several factors could explain the results, including the fact that an individual must still look at their phone to read and send their text message, even if they are using a "hands free" device.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/voice-activated-texting-while-driving-no-safer-using-022223915.html

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