Under the Influence of Texting

Texting is a great way to communicate with your friends, family and colleagues. These short messages can be sent and received on your mobile phone anytime, anywhere. It’s convenient, quick, and sometimes dangerous.

A recent study of people texting while driving shows that the risk sharply exceeds previous estimates and is much more dangerous than other driving distractions. Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, one of the world’s largest vehicle safety research organizations, conducted the study. What they found is disturbing:

• The collision risk was 23 times greater when drivers were texting
• In the moments before a crash or near crash, drivers spent almost five seconds looking at their devices — that’s enough time to cover more than the length of a football field at typical highway speeds!

Most people know they shouldn’t text while driving, but they do it anyway. They seem to think that somehow they are better than everyone else at multitasking. That viewpoint is incredibly arrogant. I don’t care how good you are, when you take your eyes off the road to look at your phone for a mere 4-5 seconds, you are endangering not only your life, but the lives of those around you.

It’s not illegal in most states, but it should be. Only 14 states ban texting while driving today. Legislators in some states say they need more information before banning the activity. I’m not sure how much more data they need. Innocent people are dying because some idiot thought texting was more important than driving. For example, Jordan Wickington, a cyclist, was killed by a speeding motorist driving 45 mph in a 30 mph zone. She never saw him because she was sending a message. She’s now spending four years in jail because of her reckless decision to text while driving. In Arizona, a head-on collision killed two 18-year-old girls. The driver was texting. These aren’t isolated cases. It’s happening more and more — and it’s frightening. According to the National Safety Council, cellphone use contributes to an estimated 6 percent of all crashes and 2,600 deaths each year.

Think you are better at multitasking than the norm? Now you can test your reaction time with an interactive game that measures how your reaction time is affected by external distractions. Give it a whirl by clicking here. And when you get in the car tomorrow, leave the cell phone in your pocket while you are driving. That text message will wait until you get to the next red light.