Just got your Bluetooth hooked up? Read on.

A Dalhousie University researcher says hands-free cellphones are no safer than hand-held cellphones. And they can even be more dangerous.

Ph.D. student Yoko Ishigami recently presented her review paper on the topic at the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals conference last month in Whistler, B.C. She was awarded first place in a national student paper competition.

Ishigami says research shows there’s no difference in the reaction time of drivers using either hand-held or hands-free cell phones when they’re confronted with unpredictable situations

But there is a difference in behaviour.

“When people use a hand-held phone, they tend to slow down and this is compensation behavior,” said Ishigami, an international student from Japan studying experimental psychology.

“But people who are using hands-free tend not to slow down.”

It’s that extra confidence drivers feel when they use a Bluetooth on the road that makes them potentially more dangerous.

The research led her to conclude all cellphone use while driving should be banned.

India is the only country that bans both hand-held and hands-free cellphones.

On April 1, Nova Scotia banned driver use of hand-held cellphones.

As of late June, police had issued 144 tickets.

Transportation Department spokeswoman Cathy MacIsaac says the law will be reviewed after it’s been in place for six months.

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