Texting while driving 'more dangerous than drugs or alcohol'

vinnie

vinnie

la vita ? buona
Forum Member
Sep 11, 2000
59,163
212
0
Here
LONDON (AFP) - Texting behind the wheel is more dangerous than driving while under the influence of alcohol or cannabis, researchers said Thursday.


Research carried out on 17 young drivers (aged 17-24) using a simulator found that reaction time slowed by 35% when they were writing or reading text messages while driving. In comparison, reaction time deteriorated by 21% for those under the influence of cannabis, and by 12% at the legal alcohol limit.

Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) -- which carried out the study for the RAC Foundation -- also found that steering control worsened by 91% for those who were distracted by texts, compared to 35% when cannabis was involved.

The tests also showed that texters were less able to maintain safe distances from other cars and they tended to drift out of their lane more often.

RAC Foundation director Stephen Glaister said the research "clearly shows that a motorist who is texting is significantly more impaired than a motorist at the legal limit for alcohol."

TRL researcher Nick Reed added: "When texting, drivers are distracted by taking their hand off the wheel to use their phone, by trying to read small text on the phone display, and by thinking about how to write their message. This combination of factors resulted in the impairments to reaction time and vehicle control that place the driver at a greater risk than having consumed alcohol to the legal limit for driving."

Nearly half of all drivers aged 18 to 24 in Britain admit to texting while driving, according to an earlier RAC poll of over 2000 young drivers.
 
SixFive

SixFive

bonswa
Forum Member
Mar 12, 2001
18,743
245
63
54
BG, KY, USA
MadJack said:
why is that?
Click to expand...

I just say it's absolute bs! I might change my mind if I ever get a victim of a car wreck caused by texting :rolleyes: I've taken care of too many alcohol related motor vehicle accidents, and for so many people it's cliche, and I'm passionate about hating drunk driving. Can't stand it and have no compassion for those who do it.

Dilligaff about what some stupid London think-tank bs organization says? It's preposterous to even compare drinking, smoking dope, and texting. No chit it's not the wisest thing to try to text if you're heavy in a traffic jam. bfd; did we need some research to tell us that? I can text all day while driving and not be the least bit impaired. That can't be said when dui.

If texting is dangerous, let's warn people, post stories etc. and make sure our kids don't do it. That's one discussion and fine. To compare it to dui just makes my blood boil. It's like we're giving a pass to dui because texting is more dangerous.
 
Last edited:
Terryray

Terryray

Say Parlay
Forum Member
Dec 6, 2001
9,626
1,647
113
Kansas City area for who knows how long....
I recall a study few years ago said same thing about cell phones (hands-free just as bad as regular cell) and drunk driving. Author did state that he expects criticism:

?suggesting that we are trivializing drunken-driving impairment, but it is anything but the case. We don't think people should drive while drunk, nor should they talk on their cell phone while driving.?

?This study does not mean people should start driving drunk,? says Drews. ?It means that driving while talking on a cell phone is as bad as or maybe worse than driving drunk, which is completely unacceptable and cannot be tolerated by society.?

study report goes on:

?Fortunately, the percentage of drunk drivers at any time is much lower,? Drews says. ?So it means the risk of talking on a cell phone and driving is probably much higher than driving intoxicated because more people are talking on cell phones while driving than are driving drunk.? The main reason there are not more accidents is that ?92 percent of drivers are not on a cell phone and are compensating for drivers on cell phones,? he adds.

Cell phone use is far from the only distraction for motorists. The researchers cite talking to passengers, eating, drinking, lighting cigarettes, applying makeup and listening to the radio as the ?old standards? of driver distraction.

?However, over the last decade many new electronic devices have been developed, and they are making their way into the vehicle,? the researchers write. ?Drivers can now surf the Internet, send and receive e-mail or faxes, communicate via a cellular device and even watch television. There is good reason to believe that some of these new multitasking activities may be substantially more distracting than the old standards because they are more cognitively engaging and because they are performed over longer periods of time.?

.....

Studies have found fiddling with radio just as bad. Folks did try to ban those back in the 1930s, but just like cell--too many around being used and ban will be worthless.

Smoking dope and then driving has always been shown in real on-road studies to be trivial in it's impairment compared to the stuff mentioned above, like fiddling with radio and talking to friends. THC doped folks compensate for the impairment, which drunks don't seem to be able to do.
 
Old School

Old School

OVR
Forum Member
Mar 19, 2006
38,417
460
83
74
Average U.S. Car Is Tipping Scales at 4,000 Pounds


I would say that a gas powered battering ram weighing 2 TONS would necessitate us to pay attention to what we are doing..

..somehow texting and yak yak yak on the cell phone doesn't seem to fit that attentive requirement..

:director: get off the damn phones you morans..

heaven forbid you pull over and take care of business..

might slow you down in your pursuit to get where you are going..of course that is to go sit your ass down again...never have quite figured out :shrug: why people are in a hurry to go sit down..weren't you just sitting down:shrug:

UNFRIGGING BELIEVABLE
 
J

justin22g

WAR EAGLE!
Forum Member
Sep 8, 2005
1,809
1
0
Birmingham, AL
I T-boned a girl that was texting... banged the backseat passenger up pretty good... I felt so sorry for her because she only had her license for a week or so. I could actually see her texting right before impact..
 
Agent 0659

Agent 0659

:mj07:
Forum Member
Dec 21, 2003
17,712
243
0
51
Gym rat
I think we need MORE distractions in the car.

:rolleyes:

Radio, Satellite radio, DVD players, cell phones for talking and text, Navigation devices, etc.

Just fkin amazing. I remember when tailgaiting somebody meant something, now everybody rides so close to everyones ass it's amazing. Nobody has any reaction time.

They're in a big fkin hurry to get NOPLACE.
 
Old School

Old School

OVR
Forum Member
Mar 19, 2006
38,417
460
83
74
reaction time can certainly be measured..thus compared..


1 second at 60mph can be the difference in life and death..


ask a semi-driver ...who has had to stand on the brakes for dumb asses..
 
T

twofingers

Registered User
Forum Member
Nov 16, 1999
1,244
9
38
SixFive said:
:rolleyes: and I'm sure you put a stop to that person driving each time, right? These 2 things can not be compared.
Click to expand...

I just don't understand why people like you think it is your right to put other peoples life at stake with your reckless actions.

Study after study shows that it lessens your reaction time. What is so hard to understand?

:shrug:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Bet on MyBookie
Top