Community Corner

AAA: Hands-Free, Hand-Held? Doesn't Matter on the Road

Hands-free devices don't keep drivers from distraction, according to a new study by AAA.

y Whitney Teal

Texting or holding a cell phone while driving is a no-no, this we all know, but a new study by AAA found that even if your hands are on the wheel, listening to or talking to other people makes you just as likely to crash. In the case of voice-to-text functionality, it's the most distracting to the driving brain of all common car activities.

Distracted driving is thought to be the cause of up to 78 percent of crashes and near crashes, according to a 2006 study of 100 cars cited by AAA's report. The problem with this data, though, AAA said, was that it doesn't break down how we get distracted. Texting a friend your ETA isn't the same level of distraction as listening to NPR, for example, the study opined. 

In its recent study, AAA took a control group and had them perform eight tasks while they weren't driving. Another group of folks did the same activities while they were driving. What they found was that almost any level of distraction—even listening to The Diane Rehm Show—can increase your chance of a crash.

In fact, a book-on-tape decreased brake reaction time almost as much as talking on a hand-held phone. Hands-free phones slightly increased reaction time over hand-held phones. 

(See the reaction time chart from AAA, attached to this article.)

Rating levels of distraction for common activities, voice-to-text came out on top (most distracting) while the radio was least distracting. 

(See the distraction rating chart from AAA, attached to this article.)

Using hand-held phones and texting while driving are illegal in Maryland. A new law goes into effect Oct. 1 that will make using a hand-held phone a primary offense—enough to warrant a traffic stop by police even if no other wrongdoing is observed.


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