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Texting Drivers 23 Times More Likely to Wreck

by Caleb Johnson on July 28, 2009 at 01:23 PM

For many today, texting has become the primary way of communicating with friends and family. The physical setting for texting usually doesn't matter, but a new study suggests you might want to think twice about using a phone when you're behind the wheel.

According to The New York Times, a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that drivers who text while on the road are 23 times more likely to crash than those who don't. With the help of footage gathered by cameras attached to 18-wheelers, the study analyzed how long drivers turned away from the road while sending or receiving texts. The average response time was around five seconds, enough time to travel 100 yards (the length of a football field). Lead researcher Rick Hanowski told the Times that drivers should never text because it's "in its own universe of risk."

Should texting while driving be banned?
Yes335 (84.4%)
No54 (13.6%)
I'm not sure.8 (2.0%)


These findings, which are part of the first study on text messaging not performed in a lab, are certainly alarming. So far, only 14 states (including Alaska, California, Louisiana and New Jersey) have banned text messaging while driving. [From: The New York Times]

Tags: car, danger, driving, dwt, study, texting, top

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