Study: Hands-free phones distract drivers

PITTSBURGH, March 10 (UPI) -- A study by a Pittsburgh scientist on the effects of driving while answering questions found that simply hearing a cellular phone call may distract drivers.

The study, conducted by Marcel Just, director of the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon University, monitored the brain activities of 29 people who drove a simulated vehicle while choosing whether auditory statements were false or true, USA Today reported.

Driving and listening at the same time resulted in a "significant deterioration in driving accuracy," Just and other authors said in the most recent publication of the journal "Brain Research."

The study reportedly has raised concerns about whether banning hand-held cellphones is enough to keep drivers focused.

"Certain activities in life are inherently multitasking, but driving and cellphone use isn't something Mother Nature thought about when she was designing our brains," Just said.