Turning left while on the phone top driving danger: Research
Posted February 28, 2013 6:44 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It might just be the most dangerous thing you can do while behind the wheel and new made-in-Canada research proves it.
Neuroscientists out of St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto say hands-free is not brain-free and that particular manoeuvre is downright treacherous. They add making that turn in a busy intersection is when the most serious accidents happen.
Think about it for a minute. You’re turning left, you’re making decisions about oncoming traffic, pedestrians, traffic lights, everything is in motion and then you add the distraction of being on a cell phone.
The research shows making the turn is still the hardest thing to do while driving, even if you’re using a hands-free device because you’re still dedicating some attention to that call.
The findings were made while testing drivers in a simulator while undergoing brain scans. The people who took part were between the age of 20 and 30 and had been driving an average of seven years.
Doctors say future research will involve a larger number of participants of various ages and those with brain injury or neurological disorders such as dementia.
You can find more information of the research in the Journal of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
