A recent study by Marcel Just, a neuroscientist who is director of the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, concludes that simply listening to a cell phone distracts drivers.  Jonathan Adkins, spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, says that the study questions the effectiveness of the laws enacted by five states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands that prohibit drivers from using handheld cell phones but allow the use of other devices.  Adkins notes that allowing the use of hands-free phones gives drivers a false sense of safety.  Just used an MRI brain scanner on 29 volunteers operating a driving simulator and found that listening while driving caused a significant deterioration in driving accuracy.  Just and his co-authors report on the study in the latest issue of the journal Brain Research.

Study Deals Blow to Hands-Free Phones (USA Today 3/9/08)

March 17, 2008