Mar 5, 2008 10:39 pm US/Eastern
Local Study Analyzes Cell Phones & Driving
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
A new study by Carnegie Mellon University finds that drivers who underwent a brain scan while driving and talking proved one thing.
"You can do many things at the same time. We all multi-task. But we don't do it as well as when we focus on one task," Dr. Marcel Just said. "If you're listening to someone talk on a cell phone while you're driving, you are taking a risk."
Even though you might try to block out certain parts of a conversation, the brain processes it just the same.
But if you think safety is just as easy as putting the phone down and paying attention to the road, think again. Because as it turns out, the person in the front seat could be just as distracting as who's on the phone.
"But if you just have someone listen to sentences that they're judging true or false, that brain activity goes way down by 37 percent if you're also listening to sentences," Dr. Just said.
While ads encouraging drivers to keep their eyes on the road have been on TV for some time, in the end Dr. Just says it comes down to common sense.
"Cutting down on cell phone use during driving will be an enormous benefit. Not years out, and not for some esoteric reason, but for ourselves, for our own children, our relatives. I think it's for our own good," Dr. Just said.
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