the lead author of the study is david strayer of the university of utah. >> i think this is the firstwe fully understood how demanding voice-based technology can be in the car. >> dial. >> reporter:stitial the study blames most voice-related distractions not on drivers but on unreliable technology. for example, the way this ford system misses the driver's request for a radio station. >> 99.5 f.m. >> 99.8, that's not a valid frequency. >> reporter: so the researchers gave rankings to the sois voicesystems sold by the major car manufacturers. toyota'toyota's entunes scored e best, and chevrolet mylink was the worst, partly because of miscommands like this. >> calling john doe. >> calling donna turl. >> reporter: general motors argued in the statement that mylink is still safer than the use of handheld phones but says it will continue to improve our in-vehicle systems. researchers did not say hands-free driving results in more accidents just more distraction. but as voice activation becomes the norm in car, it is a warning to make the systems more failsafe. >> pelley: did you hear the ut

david strayer and researchers from the university of utah found drivers actually had slower reactions. >> the most surprising thing from our research is how distracting it can be when you're trying to talk to your car to turn the radio on or change the radio or place an outgoing call. >> the good news is that it's possible the design hands-free technologies that are less distracting, aaa is urging companies to make the products less complicated. >>> and some good news here. there's a good chance your heating bills will be lower this winter. that's because the deep freeze we experienced last year is unlikely to return. the energy department is out with its annual prediction of winter heating costs today. it says consumers should get an extra big discount from lower oil and propane prices. >>> three, two, one. >> a big day for manayunk. it's the official opening of the new venice island performing arts and reck sags center. the $46 million makeover comes after a decade of planning. the rec center is the first in philadelphia to how's a state-of-the-art theater where kids and adult grou

david strayer, a psychology professor at the university of utah who helped conduct the study.fessor, thanks for coming in. this really amazing. my own personal experience verifies finds here i have to say. hands-free driving, all the gimmicks and technology in our cars it was supposed to keep us from become distracted. is it working? >>goal is to keep your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel but what it doesn't do is keep our mind on driving. it takes quite a bit of attention to talk to the control it, to change the radio, do kinds of things that we're allowed to do in terms of technology but kind of exceeds our brain's capacity to do it well. gerri: i want to play sound for folks using the stuff so you get a sense how distracted people can be. listen to this. >> play cd. >> turning to am 850. >> oh, heavens. command. >> please say a command. >> call john doe? >> did you say john at work? please say yes or no. >> no. >> i am sorry, i did not catch that. >> it is confusing. it is not easy to operate. so, talk about the individual products because you conducted two studies.

david strayer designed the study. >> you will pay attention to that and not traffic lights and pedestrians and other cars. >> reporter: study also ranked the the leading car voice systems by level of mistakes and distractions. on a chart where five is the most distracting a chevrolet with my link system rated worst at 3.7 while toyota's in tune system rated best at 1.7. gm said in a statement it is committed to hands free systems and to improving our in vehicle systems and verbal interfaces on behalf of our customers. >> radio. >> wyatt andrews cb salt news, washington. >>> apple's iphone was only phone tested, researchers found siri performed even worst than car makers info entertainment the system. apple and google are working with auto companies to incorporate their phones and systems with the system, natasha. >>> also new a total eclipse of the moon, we just shot this video just in case you missed it, men as blood moon. this is second lunar eclipse of the the year. it happens when moon dips in the deepest part of the earth's shadow making it red to the naked eye. franklin institute's c

david strayer of the university of utah designed the study.it really that distracting to talk to your automobile about a phone call? >> it can be. in situations where you have a system that's very difficult to use, it's extremely frustrating to use then, yes, you'll be paying attention to that. and not paying attention to traffic lights and pedestrians and other cars. >> reporter: the study also ranked the leading voice systems by distractions. on a chart where five is the most distracting a chevrolet with gm my link system rated worst at 3.7 while toyota's intune system rated best at 1.7. gm said in a statement it's committed to hands-free systems and improving our systems and verbal interfaces on behalf of our customers. this study did not link any of these hands-free systems to an increase in car accidents. the science is not there yet. but it does say very simply, the more we have focus on talking to the car, the less we're focused on the road. norah. >> i believe it. >>> "snl" takes heat for this >> announcer: this national weather report

david strayer of the university of utah designed the study. >> it is really that distracting to talkyour automobile about a phone call? >> it can be. then, yes, you'll be paying attention to that and not paying attention to traffic lights and pedestrians and other cars. >> they also ranked the leading voice systems by levels of mistakes and systems. on a chart where five is the most distracting. a chevrolet with gm's my link system rated worse at 3.7 while toyota's in-tune rated best at 1.7. gm said in a statement, it is committed to hands-free system or improving our interfaces on behalf of our customers. the study does not link to an increase in automobile accidents. the more we have to focus on talking to the car, the less we're focused on the road. >> i believe it. wyatt, thank you. and it's 7:19. ahead on cbs this morning, snl takes heat for this sketch. does it look >>> low clouds and fog surging well onshore this morning. you can see those clouds making their way inland right now. even in some of the valleys all the way to the livermore valley. the fog starting to move onshore