Road Safety: The Truth About Texting While Driving

If you receive a text message while driving on the road, it’s not unusual for you to sneak a peak at it. You may even type a reply. We all know that texting while driving is dangerous, yet we just can’t seem to avoid doing it. It’s not like we’re driving drunk, right? This is where you’re wrong.

A recent experiment was performed to uncover if texting while driving can actually be more dangerous than drunk driving. It entailed measuring reaction times of two drivers: a sober driver who has no distractions, a legally drunk driver, and a driver who’s constantly texting. The drivers’ reactions were tested to see how long it would take for each of them to hit the brake. The results showed that the sober driver took .54 seconds to brake. An added 4 feet was recorded for the legally drunk driver, and a staggering 70 feet for the driver who was texting!

It cannot be denied that millions of people text, talk, or email while they are on the road. In fact, the United States Department of Transportation reported that 1.6 million car crashes and 6,000 fatalities recorded annually are due to cell phone use behind the wheel. We all go the extra mile to avoid drinking while driving, however we are not as careful when it comes to texting while driving. Do yourself a favor and don’t pick up your phone while on the road. It may save you from a fatal auto accident.