Using a hands-free device to send a text while driving will distract the driver as much as tapping out the message on a mobile phone, according to a recent study by the University of Central Florida.

UCF Today, the university's newspaper, says the study was done at UCF's MIT2 Laboratory in cooperation with the Air Force Research Laboratory. The university says the study is the first look at the effect of using Google Glass to text while driving.

Google Glass, introduced to the public earlier this year, is a smart device that can be worn like a pair of spectacles. A heads-up display is projected in front of the user's right eye, and voice commands are used to reply to messages.

Forty drivers, all between the ages of 21 and 29, took part in the UCF study. Researchers compared the performance of the participants in a driving simulator to test their driving performance while driving without distractions, texting on a smartphone, and texting while using Glass. The study tested how well participants responded to a car in front of them unexpectedly hitting its brakes.

Ben Sawyer, one of the UCF researchers, says both drivers using Glass and drivers using smartphones to text responded slowly to sudden events, though Glass drivers were able to recover more quickly from close calls.

Elise Ackerman, a contributor to Forbes, says researchers at Wichita State University conducted a similar study in 2013 to compare the effects of voice-activated texting and texting with a smartphone. The voice-activated text devices included devices other than Glass.

The Wichita State University study found that both smartphone texting and voice-activated texting impaired a driver's ability to maintain speed and their position in a lane. However, the study also found that Glass users were less likely to depart from their lane, quicker to recover if they left a lane, and more likely to drive slower and leave significant following distance behind vehicles in front of them.

The Department of Transportation identifies distracted driving as any activity that diverts a driver's attention away from the road. These behaviors include eating, reading a map, adjusting a radio, talking with passengers, and using a mobile phone. The DOT says using a smartphone to text while driving is the most dangerous form of distracted driving because it affects a driver's visual, cognitive, and manual attention.

The DOT says drivers in their 20s make up 27 percent of distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes. Drivers under the age of 20 have the highest proportion of distracted drivers; 10 percent of teenage drivers involved in fatal crashes are reported to be distracted.

Forty-four states, including Connecticut, have banned texting while driving. Richard Read, writing for the automotive site The Car Connection, says 22 states have restrictions on using handheld devices to have conversations while driving.

The Glass Almanac, a news site tracking information on Google Glass, says eight states have proposed legislation to ban the use of devices such as Glass while driving. The site says no state has yet passed such a bill.

Google Glass's support site does not explicitly advise users against driving or bicycling while using the device. The site simply says users should follow local laws involving the use of mobile devices and to pay attention to the road. However, Glass users are advised against using a jackhammer or scuba diving while wearing the smart specs.