From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

Who's at the wheel? You or your smartphone?

Hello again, I'm Armin Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

I'll take a look at the issues Americans cut about most. If you

drive with your cell phone turned on, consider this. One passionate critic of distracted driving

killed two people while he was texting. Drivers tell pollsters, they know that's dangerous, but

many admit they do it anyway. Now, neuroscientists say they don't have much choice. We'll hear

how the beep from the cell phone throws a driver's brain out of balance,

often with tragic results.

What will that mean for the law, insurance rates,

and new forms of the communications technology we all depend on?

Today's talking point, a retiring baseball star hits the winning run in his final game

as shortstop for the New York Yankees.

First, here's the news.

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Support for To The Point comes from the members of KCRW and from the Public Radio International Program Fund.

Hello again. We're in Allie, back with To The Point. When we're driving, we tell ourselves we can ignore that beep from the Public Radio International Program Fund. Hello again, we're in Allie, back with To the Point.

When we're driving, we tell ourselves we can ignore that beep from the cell phone and concentrate on the road.

But there is scientific evidence that our brains cannot resist finding out what that message might be.

We'll hear about the conflict between new technology and the basic instincts that help our species survive.

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