Siri voice recognition texting is 'just as dangerous' as sending messages at the wheel, researchers say

• Researchers say sending messages via voice recognition halved reaction times
• Claim that time needed to correct mistakes was longer than sending a text
  
• Comes as major phone makers planning to integrate handsets and voice recognition into more cars

By Mark Prigg

Published: 08:46 EDT, 23 April 2013 | Updated: 07:25 EDT, 24 April 2013

Using voice to send text messages while driving is just as dangerous as texting with fingers,a new study has found.

The Texas research found that both methods impacted driver response times equally - but that it often took voice recognition users longer to fix mistakes with their messages.

It comes as Apple and Google are increasingly targetting cars makers, working with them to integrate their phones.

Talk vs text: Researchers found using voice to send text messages while driving is just as dangerous as texting with fingers

The study by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University was the first to compare voice-to-text and traditional texting on a handheld device in an actual driving environment.

'In each case, drivers took about twice as long to react as they did when they weren't texting,' Christine Yager, who headed the study, told Reuters.

'Eye contact to the roadway also decreased, no matter which texting method was used."

The research involved 43 participants driving along a test track without any electronic devices present.

The same participants then drove while texting and again while using a speech-to-text device.

Yager said speech-to-text actually took longer than traditional texting, due to the need to correct errors in the electronic transcription.

'You're still using your mind to try to think of what you're trying to say, and that by proxy causes some driving impairment, and that decreases your response time,' Yager said.

The biggest concern is that the driver felt safer while using voice-to-text applications instead of traditional texting, even though driving performance was equally affected, she said.

This may lead to a false belief that texting while driving using spoken commands is safe when in reality it is not, Yager said.

The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association says 6.1 billion text messages per day were sent in the United States in 2012.

Apple announced at its Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco that it is planning to integrate its voice-activated tool Siri into car steering wheels. However, research from the AAA Traffic Foundation in the U.S found that hands-free kits posed the same risk as making calls at the wheel

Google Android software already has a special 'car mode', shown here, which lets users access commonly used functions via large buttons

Some 35 percent of drivers admit to reading a text or email while driving in any given month, while 26 percent admitted to typing one, according to data from AAA, a national drivers' organization.

'Every day, new technologies come out, and it is important to educate the public that even these seemingly new distractions are still distractions, and it will help people be safer when they get into the vehicle,' Yager said.

Researchers have been working with car makers to integrate their phones.

Google's Android software even has a special Car Mode with large buttons that are easier to press.

Apple is working with several manufacturers on 'Eyes Free', which allows users to simply speak to their car, with a special Siri button on the steering wheel.

With Hands Free, the iPhone screen stays off, so it will not distract the driver.

Since Siri talks back to a user out loud, drivers can control many functions on their iPhone with just the press of a button and the use of their voice, allowing them to keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.

The firms involced include BMW, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Jaguar and Audi.

However, even though the feature was launched almost a year ago, few have actually implemented it, believed to be due to the long lead times for car makers.