Researchers rigged a car and a test to vary the amount of cognitive load that a driver encountered to measure how impaired they could become. The results were interesting.
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/03/behind-the-wheel-not-all-distractions-are-equal/
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/03/behind-the-wheel-not-all-distractions-are-equal/