Experts state that texting or emailing while driving is more deadly than originally believed
Distracted drivers kill
During a recent study by the Texas A&M University Texas Transportation Institute 42 drivers between the ages of 16 and 54 drove on an 11-mile test track course. For a portion of the test drivers sent or received text messages and for another portion they focused completely on the road.
The results were chilling and confirmed that texting or emailing while driving is nearly twice as dangerous than previously thought, according to a new study out of the
"Essentially texting while driving doubles a driver's reaction time," Christine Yager, who led the study, "That makes a driver less able to respond to sudden roadway dangers."
Whether it texting, e-mailing calling, eating, adjusting the GPS, fixing their hair or make-up, tending to a child in the back seat… whatever drivers are doing other than driving, the fact is that it takes their attention away from operating the vehicle. This alarming reality affects all of us when we are on the road and has serious consequences: cars flying through red lights, drivers failing to yield to traffic, operators speeding, weaving recklessly, drinking and driving, driving sleepy or drowsy, road rage, etc.
Here are some horrifying statistics:
- The percentage of all traffic deaths caused by distracted driving rose from 11% in 1999 to 16% in 2008.
- Distracted-driving crashes are more common in urban areas. Overall, 40% of all crashes happened in urban areas in 2008, up from 33% a decade earlier.
- Only one-third of Americans had a cell phone in 1999. By 2008, 91%.
- The average monthly volume of text messages was 1 million in 2002. By 2008, it was 110 million.
Bottom line. Our roads are more deadly than ever.
Contributing writer Emery Brett Ledger is a nationally recognized Personal Injury Attorney.
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