ADEPT Driver, a California company that develops smart driver safety programs like teenSMART and Lifelong Driver, has released a new research summary on the risk of hand-free texting while driving.

The new research summary conducted at Texas A&M Transportation Institute, looked at 36 studies on distracted driving, texting while driving, and hands-free texting while driving according to a company press release.

"We did a thorough review of the available research and consistently found evidence that hands-free texting while driving is just as risky, if not riskier, than using a hand-held device to text while behind the wheel," said Dr. Richard Harkness , a traffic safety expert and CEO of ADEPT Driver.

Click here to read the full summary.

Based on the answers from 43 research participants driving an actual vehicle on a closed course, the TTI analysis compared drivers' performance in an actual driving environment while texting hands-free, texting manually on a handheld device, and driving without any texting activity.

The summary outlined a number of different observations such as:

-Driver response times were delayed whether they were texting manually or texting hands-free. In each instance, drivers took about "twice as long" to react as they did when they weren't texting. Drivers are less able to take action in response to sudden roadway hazards with slower reaction times.

-No matter which texting method they were using, the amount of time drivers spent looking at the road ahead was "significantly less" while they were texting.

-Manual texting required less time than the voice-to-text option for most tasks, but driver performance was "roughly" the same.

"As transportation and traffic safety experts share research on the use of new voice-to-text technology in cars there is growing awareness about just how dangerous it is to drive while texting hands-free," said Dr. Harkness in the study. "Auto manufacturers recognize the risk of texting while driving, so we applaud those that install technology to disable the texting function when car wheels are moving."

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