New Study Proves Hands-Free Smartphone Use Still Dangerous While Driving

After Apple announced its partnership with several auto makers to include new Siri or iOS 7 in their cars; a new study conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found there's still a high risk of distracted driving even when people are operating their device with both hands on the wheel.

The new study proves mental distractions, like those that would be caused with smartphone integration, still compromises brain functions and causes drivers to miss certain things that could prove to be dangerous.

However AAA's findings, despite the hope,

Automotive Discover reports the study was done by setting up eight different distracting activities, including hands-free texting, hands-free driving, and listening to audio books. They then tested 150 drivers under each circumstance. Those tests were followed up with a smaller study, conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute back in April.

The test reportedly measured brain waves, eye movement and other factors that could help determine if a driver was distracted to a point of risk to the driver. The study determined that as mental distractions went up, reaction time slowed down and the driver's field of vision narrowed.

In a real-life driving situation, it's possible that these mental distractions could lead to an accident - thus proving that even hands-free activity with your smartphone in the car can be highly dangerous. ABC News reports that AAA wants restrictions on hands free smartphone integration.

"This is a reminder to the general public that distracted driving is real," Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety told ABC News. "Three out of four drivers believe that hands-free is better than handheld. But hands-free is not risk-free, and we now have new evidence that clearly demonstrates that."