Friday, June 30, 2006

I believe it

Cellphone talkers as bad as drunk drivers: study - People who talk on cellphones while driving, even using "hands-free" devices, are as impaired as drunk drivers, researchers said on Thursday.
They studied 40 volunteers who used a driving simulator four times -- while undistracted, using a handheld cell phone, using a hands-free cell phone and while intoxicated to a 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level -- the average legal level of impairment in the United States -- after drinking vodka and orange juice.

Three study participants rear-ended the simulated car in front of them. All were talking on cellphones and none was drunk, the researchers said.

Motorists who talked on either handheld or hands-free cell phones drove slightly more slowly, were 9 percent slower to hit the brakes, and varied their speed more than undistracted drivers.

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