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How talking on cell affects driving

Started by sivaji, Jun 02, 2008, 01:04 PM

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sivaji

Everyone knows that talking on a cellphone while driving is not safe. Now, a study establishes biologically the interference which takes place while carrying out the two tasks simultaneously.
    A team at South Carolina University, led by an Indian-origin researcher Amit Almor, has found that planning to speak and talking put far more demands on the brain's resources than mere listening.
    Their findings are based on two experiments which involved nearly 50 people. One required participants to detect visual shapes on a monitor and the other needed them
to use a computer mouse to track a fast-moving target on screen.
    In both the experiments, the participants performed the visual tasks while listening and responding to the narratives.
    "We measured their attention level and found that subjects were four times more distracted while preparing to speak or speaking than when they were listening. People can tune in or out as needed when listening," Almor said.
    In both the experiments, the researchers placed the participants in a circular, surround-sound environment in which the speakers were hidden and the voice shifted from the front, rear or either side.
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