A new study by the AAA Foundation for...

workload and distractions increase, reaction time slows, brain function is compromised, drivers scan the road less and miss visual cues, potentially resulting in drivers not seeing items right in front of them including stop signs and pedestrians,” AAA said (http://bit.ly/11fV6xh). “This landmark study is eye-opening and sobering,” said Lon Anderson, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s managing director-public and government affairs. “It proves that hands-free is not a safety ’silver bullet’ and that talking on a cellphone while driving is dangerous, no matter whether hand-held or hands-free. The evidence is in. The issue here is taking your mind off the road while driving as much as taking your eyes off the road, and both are always dangerous.” CTIA respects the AAA study, said spokesman John Walls. “Since 1999 when we launched our first public outreach to today’s ‘It Can Wait’ anti-texting campaign that’s supported by four of the major wireless carriers, the industry is proactively increasing driver awareness on the dangers of unsafe behavior,” he said. “We hope that future studies on this matter will assess the full range of activities and potential distractions, such as eating, drowsiness, personal grooming and reaching for moving objects, to better understand the scope of the situation and to develop technology to enhance the safe driving experience.”