Drunk Driving Fatalities 2010
Texting & Driving
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We all text and drive, but I don't think that we really know the consequences; we know the consequences, but we don't take them seriously. Some people say that texting and driving is almost as bad as drinking and driving, but what do you think? Is being intoxicated as bad as sending a quick text message to your mommy?
There was a study done in 2009 and 2010 that showed 58% of adults and 66% of teens that had cell phones used them mainly to send text messages. Since it's more than half of Americans that have cell phones, it's pretty obvious that they're going to take these phones with them when the drive. That same study also showed that 34% of the teens that use the phone to text have "texted" while driving. 47% of adults say that they text while they drive as well .. which is pretty interesting if you ask me. I mean, if the adults are texting in front of their kids, then of course their kids are going to text when they get older, you know?
In 2008, NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) came out with a report that stated almost 6,000 fatal accidents and more than half of a million injuries were because of drivers who were distracted. Even though the study wasn't mainly focused on texting, I think it'd be a pretty good guess saying that these accidents happened because someone was busy talking to someone else.
Like every other driving distraction, texting usually involves a specific amount of mental attention and a specific amount physical attention - this is the main reason why texting and driving has been banned in 28 states.
The only real question remains: Is texting and driving really as bad as drunk driving? Is it that bad where your car will end up in car salvage yards if you're caught driving and texting? Even though research is just starting on texting and driving, some people say that texting and driving is even worse than drinking and driving! The main reason why is because drivers are constantly taking their eyes off the road to focus on something else.
In a test that was conducted by the Transport Research Laboratory in London, they found out that when drivers were busy sending a text message, they had slower response times and they were more vulnerable to drift in and out of lanes. What I think is funny is that they also mentioned that those who were high in marijuana drove worse .. but why would they test someone who was high in marijuana? It just seems super ridiculous to me.
The study concluded that reaction times for those who were texting while driving was 35% worse compared to when they'd drive with no distraction whatsoever. If they were driving while they were intoxicated, the reaction time was 12% worse than when the driver was completely sober and driving without any distractions at all. There was something else that was found: there's a significant decrease in the ability to keep a safe distance between you and the car in front of you when you're texting. The driver's steering control had dropped by a whopping 91% compared to those drivers that had no distractions at all.
Sure if you don't pay attention, then you're bound to have messed up Headlights or have your car end up in car salvage yards if that's not your first tickets for the same thing.
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