Texting and Driving More Lethal than Driving Drunk

We all know how dangerous it is to get behind the wheel of a car intoxicated. During holidays such as New Year’s we know the temptation to drink and drive is increased, so we emphasize the importance of calling a cab. Studies show, however, that texting and driving – or using a cell phone at all while driving for that matter – is just as dangerous or worse than driving drunk.

Currently 30 of the 50 U.S. states have banned texting and driving. This number has increased by 12 in just one year’s time; in 2009, only 18 states had declared the practice illegal. However, many individuals, unfortunately, decide not to listen – either unaware of its dangers or choosing not to care.

Per records from the U.S. Department of Transportation, there were 6000 people slaughtered on the roads in 2008 because of distracted driving. Teen drivers represent many of these distracted drivers – their immaturity and inexperience paves the way for accidents to occur. Add a cell phone to the mix, and it can turn deadly. In a 2009 study, 60 percent of all teens reported that they text and drive despite knowing how dangerous it is.

A study conducted by Professor David Strayer of the University of Utah showed just how deadly texting and driving could be. Researchers found that those who text and drive were eight times as likely to cause an accident as those who didn’t text and drive. Amazingly, this figure is twice the accident rate for those driving intoxicated.

When a person chooses to text and drive, he is definitely taking his own life into his hands. There are so many distractions on the road such as animals, potholes, bad drivers, bikers, and pedestrians – that we don’t need anything else to divert our attention. Even looking down for one second can cause a person to skirt the length of a football field.

A lot can happen in that one second of taking our eyes off the road. Studies conducted with virtual driving simulators show that those who text and drive randomly speed up and slow down and even accidently veer off into other lanes. We have to ask ourselves, is that text worth our life or the life of someone else?

The magazine Car and Driver wanted to evaluate the data collected in the simulated experiments by conducting the tests in real life. Car and Driver examined reaction times for two drivers first while driving sober, then while texting, and last while intoxicated. Data from its experiment concurred with previous tests done on the subject. After five test-runs, each at high and low speeds, the magazine found that reaction times were delayed by twice as much when texting and driving as opposed to driving sober or even while intoxicated.

Authors of the study also cite that their tests were conducted in a controlled environment free of road hazards and traffic. Adding these variables only increases the risk. Results of these studies point to the fact that distractions on the road need to be reduced. Certainly a controllable factor like texting and driving can be minimized by enforcing stricter laws. To see anymore lives lost to this cause is heartbreaking and unnecessary.