A new study released this week indicated that going hands-free in your car may not be as safe as you think. The study stated that texting and driving is bad even if you're using voice-to-text applications according to CBS News.
The study, which was conducted by Texas A&M Transportation Institute, indicates that voice-to-text applications on a smartphone is just as bad as manually sending a text message while operating a motor vehicle.
The study was sponsored by Southwest Region University Transportation Center (SWUTC), which is part of the federally-funded University Transportation Centers Program.
The results were published during National Distracted Awareness Month, designed to encourage people to stop using cell phones, eating, reading, and other activities that could cause an accident.
"In each case, drivers took about twice as long to react as they did when they weren't texting," head researcher Christine Yager said to Reuters. "Eye contact to the roadway also decreased, no matter which texting method was used."
Researchers tested 43 people, who drove real vehicles on a closed course. The volunteers were asked to drive the course first without using a cell phone device. The next three runs they were asked to drive the course while performing a number of texting exercises.
The exercises included: One run while using two different voice-to-text applications, one run while sending text messages manually.
Researchers were able to measure two things through the study: how long it took to complete a task and how long it took for the driver to respond to a traffic light, which was turned on at random intervals during each run.
Most of the drivers' response times were "delayed" when using both text messaging methods. Response times were twice as long when compared to their test runs while not texting according to the study.
While drivers showed similar results when using manual or voice-to-text apps, volunteers felt "safer" when talking to their smartphones when compared to typing a message.
Siri c-creator Adam Cheyer disagreed profusely with the study however, going as far as to criticize multiple media outlets for "misleading" reports.
"I don't think that there is any evidence that shows that if Siri and other systems are used properly in eyes-free mode, they are 'just as risky' as texting," said Cheyer in a press statement. "It assumes you are 'eyes-busy' and responds differently. Of course your driving performance is going to be degraded if you're reading screens and pushing buttons."
Approximately 3,331 people were killed and 387,000 people were injured in crashes that involved a distracted driver in 2011.
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