drivemecrazy

Accidents are oftentimes attributed to distractions when driving. One of these distractions is the use of cellular phones. Efforts had sprouted so as to minimize the distractions brought about by using cellular phones on the road for people believe that communication is still necessary for drivers. Included in these efforts is the move to make communicating inside a vehicle be hands-free and voice-activated. However, a study shows that this is not a good idea after all.

The Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh found out that drivers who are listening to cellular phone conversations are distracted even if they do not say a single word throughout a phone call. That instance, they said, is similar to the behaviors seen in people who have been drinking. It was seen that when both driving and listening is performed at once, the activity of the parietal lobe (the part of the brain that is associated with driving) is reduced by 37 percent.

The study was done using a driving simulator. The actual study involved 29 volunteers that drove a car along a virtual winding road at a fixed speed inside an MRI brain scanner. First, the participants were tested undisturbed then later were tested to decide if a statement they will be hearing is true or false. The result turned out to be that when listening is involved, more lane errors are made. Those errors included hitting simulated guardrails and weaving out lanes. These are much similar to the errors committed by drivers who are under the influence of alcohol.

Experts say that this is due to the fact that the process of listening to spoken language needs more mental effort than what is apparent. Our brain has the capacity to comprehend language without much strategic control. Meaning, it goes into the brain and is worked on automatically; therefore, you cannot stop it.

Also, it is said that the act of merely listening to a mobile phone is much more distracting than simply chatting with a passenger. This is because when you chat with a passenger, you could still sense driving situations and could stop talking when the need arises.

I hope this makes sense to all the drivers out there. Have a safe ride always. Do the necessary precautions.