Is Using a Cell Phone While Driving Really That Distracting?

PITTSBURGH (NEWSRADIO 1020 KDKA) -- The National Transportation Safety Board says that texting, emailing or chatting while driving is too dangerous to be allowed anywhere in the United States, and they're urging a total ban on cell phones in cars.

While we are a long way from this happening, it does bring up an interesting question- does your brain work differently when you're talking on the phone while driving or talking to a passenger in the car?

KDKA AM's Larry Richert and John Shumway talk to Allegheny General Hospital psychiatrist Dr. Patton Van Nickel about how our brain works when driving and if using a cell phone really is that much more distracting.