Hang up the phone in the car

CONTRARY to popular belief, drivers using hands-free speakerphones are more likely to be distracted than those using other types of mobile. Roland Matthews at Massey University in New Zealand gave drivers either a standard mobile phone, a mobile with an earpiece, or a mobile connected to a microphone and speaker built into the car. He then phoned the drivers as they negotiated a stretch of road and asked them to repeat words played to them. When Matthews assessed drivers on how well they understood the words, he found that those using hands-free phones with external speakers fared worst and also…