[tzs]

> When I got a new car with bluetooth calling, all of a sudden I was fumbling a lot less. A call is now about the same level of distraction as having a passenger or 2.

Most studies that have actually tested it have found that talking with someone on a phone, even if hands free, is much more distracting than talking to a passenger.

A big factor is that a passenger is much more likely to be aware of road and traffic conditions and stop the conversation during situations where the driver needs to pay extra attention to driving.

[mildbow]

Sounds plausible that it's more distracting, but I'm not convinced that the difference is more varied than found among different types of passengers (back-seat driver/kids/dumb friends/audiobook(?) etc)

If you have a few studies that show more than that, I would be glad to check it out.

[tzs]

I don't know of any that have looked at different types of passengers. They have usually just compared an adult passenger talking with the driver to an adult on a phone talking with the driver.

Here was a recent study that was pretty interesting: https://news.illinois.edu/blog/view/6367/204502

Here's an older one: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081201081917.h...

[mildbow]

thanks, I appreciate the links :)