[Daryn Kagan, Cnn Anchor:] And now to a transportation problem on the ground: the problem of distracted drivers. That's what an employers group is trying to draw attention to today: those who drive even though they are distracted. The group says that doing things like talking on cell phones and eating keeps drivers from watching the road. It's estimated that 25 to 50 percent of car crashes each year are caused by distracted drivers. Officials recommend keeping the distractions brief or just avoid them all together. As for those cell phones, some believe better hands-free phones could be helpful. More now from CNN technology correspondent Rick Lockridge.
[Burt Kolker, Ackerman Security Systems:] Would you like to do that 2:30 or 3:00 today? I'm in my car...
[Rick Lockridge, Cnn Technology Correspondent:] Many Americans think of their cars as their mobile offices. Alarm system salesman Burt Kolker, though, is serious about it.
[Kolker:] So, when people call me, they're used to getting me. And that is the nature of my business. Hi, this is Burt. I need Yvette, please.
[Lockridge:] A hands-free cell phone helps Kolker keep his eyes on the road. Voice-activated cell phones may one day be the only kind drivers will be permitted to use in the U.S., especially now that many cell phones come with screens designed for web access shopping, stock trading, e-mail screens that could divert your eyes from the road.
[Richard Grant Jr., Chief Scientist, Airtrac:] Like, oh, let me make a reason why you're not going to be looking out the window. So with hands-free and speech, that problem is taken care of.
[Computer:] Please choose the type restaurant you want.
[Unidentified Male:] Ethnic.
[Lockridge:] Under perfect conditions, a voice-operated phone can work well.
[Unidentified Male:] Scratch that.
[Lockridge:] But in the real world, cell phone connections are often noisy and garbled. That makes it harder for the remote computer Josh here is talking to, to interpret what he's saying.
[Unidentified Male:] No, it's not going to go do it. Scratch that.
[Lockridge:] What's the solution? More powerful computer chips that will enable cell phones to do speech processing internally. But will smarter phones turn us into smarter drivers?
[Grant:] Now, listen, improving driver safety this isn't a magic box that protects people when they drive. I've given them a better-than-odds-on chance. They are still going to be the same driver they were before.
[Lockridge:] In fact, a study in the "New England Journal of Medicine" found no safety advantage to using a hands-free cell phone behind the wheel. That same study also found that drivers using cell phones were four times as likely to cause an accident as drivers who weren't. That's almost exactly the same increase in risk as driving drunk. Rick Lockridge, CNN, Atlanta.