'What's that? You're behind me and wanna get past?'
We all know that using a mobile while driving can be dangerous but new research is now claiming it is also the reason why we are late for work.
Apparently drivers using hands-free phones while driving won’t overtake enough, dawdle and take longer to reach their destination.
This means everyone behind them will be late, and is therefore a viable excuse for why you overslept.
The research was carried out by the University of Utah andpsychology Professor Dave Strayer, who led the team, didn’t pull any punches when releasing the data.
‘At the end of the day, the average person's commute is longer because of that person who is on the cell phone right in front of them.’
‘That SOB on the cell phone is slowing you down and making you late,’ he raged.
‘If you talk on the phone while you're driving, it's going to take you longer to get from point A to point B, and it's going to slow down everybody else on the road,’ adds Joel Cooper, a doctoral student in psychology.
Mr Cooper is scheduled to present the study in Washington on Wednesday, Jan. 16 during the Transportation Research Board's annual meeting.
In the past the research team has found hands-free phones are no less dangerous while driving than hand-held cell phones because the conversation itself is the major distraction.
They also revealed young adults talk on cell phones while driving, their reaction times become as slow as reaction times for senior citizens.
The new study used a PatrolSim driving simulator.
Realistic traffic scenes are projected on three screens around the driver.