Cell phones have changed the way we communicate, and technologyhas evolved to allow us to talk, text and post to social mediawhile driving without touching our phones. Or has it?

Two new studies from the AAA Foundation for TrafficSafety and the University ofUtah have found that hands-free, voice-activated infotainmentsystems in cars can still be distracting to drivers. The systems,which enable drivers to change radio stations, make phone calls andsend text messages are supposed to allow drivers to keep theirhands on the wheel and their eyes are on the road. Instead, many ofthem are so error-prone that they require even greaterconcentration from the driver, not less.

David Strayer, a psychology professor at the University of Utahand the study leader, stresses that driving should always be adriver's primary focus and that things that take attention awayfrom this task endanger everyone.

One study looked at the infotainment systems from severalpopular car manufacturers: Chevrolet's MyLink system, Mercedes'COMMAND system, MyFord Touch, Chrysler's UConnect, Toyota's Entune,and Hyundai's Blue Link Telematics System. Chevrolet's system wasthe most distracting, followed by Mercedes and Ford. Toyota,Hyundai and Chrysler scored the best.

The study rated activities that a driver would normally do in avehicle from the least distracting to the most distracting.Listening to the radio or books on tape were the least distracting.Using a hands-free cell phone, talking to a passenger and talkingon a hand-held cell phone were more distracting, and using avehicle's speech-to-text system to create text messages and emailswas by far the most distracting.

The study found that the accuracy of the voice recognitionsystems had a direct correlation to the rate of distraction.Systems with more accurate recognition were less distracting todrivers. Composing messages was also more distracting thanlistening to them.

A second study assessed Apple's Siri (version iOS 7) using thesame metrics as the infotainment study and found a relatively highrate of mental distraction. "Technologies used in the car that relyon voice communications may have unintended consequences thatadversely affect road safety," said Peter Kissinger, president andCEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety in a press release."The level of distraction and the impact on safety can varytremendously based on the task or the system the driver isusing."

Researchers tested the systems with 162 university students andother volunteers who drove in three different settings: alaboratory, a driving simulator and in a neighborhood in Salt LakeCity. Both studies had drivers perform "real world" activities suchas changing radio stations and voice dialing. Simple commands liketurning on the radio, changing the station, reading emails andtexts were the least distracting. Using the voice menu to navigateto a location and create emails and texts was more distracting. Andusing an error-prone voice system or Apple's Siri to navigate, postto social media sites, and send or receive texts was the mostdistracting. In two instances, drivers using the Siri system in adriving simulator rear-ended another car.

The researchers also found that well-designed systems with thecapability to understood clear directions posed the least amount ofrisk, indicating that advanced technology can make drivinghands-free safer.