His research has clearly shown the large cost of common distractions - like cell phone use and texting - on driving performance. Talking on the cell-phone increases the risk of accidents fourfold - the same amount as driving while intoxicated above the legal limit. As he and many other researchers have shown, the act of talking on the phone is the culprit - not holding the phone in one's hand. There is thus no difference between handheld and hands-free phones in cars. Apart from this applied research in human attention, Dr. Strayer has also identified a small set of people who seem to be able to multitask without a significant cost to their performance. Identifying the characteristics of these so-called 'supertaskers' is a new topic he currently pursues. Tags: