While texting and driving has always been considered dangerous, a new Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study really puts things into perspective.
According to the research, which the N.Y. Times reports is the first of drivers text messaging inside of their automobiles, far surpasses estimates based on laboratory research.
The study to be released Tuesday found, according to the Times, that when drivers texted, their collision risk was a whopping 23 times greater than when they were not.
The cabs of long-haul trucks were outfitted with video cameras — at the cost of $6M – over 18 months and across 3 million miles to gather the data, the newspaper reported. More than 100 truckers were studied.
Also frightening:
“In the moments before a crash or near crash, drivers typically spent nearly five seconds looking at their devices — enough time at typical highway speeds to cover more than the length of a football field.”
While trucks take longer to stop and are less maneuverable than cars, researchers say the conclusions can be applied to all drivers, the Times reported.
The study was financed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration whose mission is to improve safety in trucks and buses.
Tom Dingus, director of the Virginia Tech institute, told the Times that the results are clear:
” ‘You should never do this,” he said of texting while driving. “It should be illegal.’ “
While Connecticut currently has a ban on operating hand-held cell phones while driving, the Connecticut Post last week called it a failure:
“This is not a matter of personal liberty, or the state taking away your rights. If an action is proven to bring great risk to others on the road, as operating a cell phone surely does, the government has a responsibility to step in.
It won’t happen soon. The state continues to wait on a budget agreement and won’t be taking up major new initiatives until the next session. But it should be high on their to-do list.”
