Texting Is More Dangerous Than Drunk Driving July 2, 2009

Car and Driver magaizine brought two drivers out on to a test track to measure their reaction times to a red light appearing on their windshield.   They were tested while driving at 35 m.p.h. and 70 m.p.h. to get base line readings.   The drivers then had their reaction times measured both while reading a text message and while typing the same text message they just received.   

Then the two participants started drinking screwdrivers (vodka and orange juice) until they both reached the legal driving limit of 0.08 percent blood-alcohol content.   Car and Driver ran the same test with the participants again.   The results:  both drivers did much worse while texting than while intoxicated. 

To illustrate the difference in reaction times, while driving 70 m.p.h. one of the drivers stopped an average of four feet farther while driving drunk and an average of 70 feet farther while texting.   This test was conducted on a straight road wihout any traffic, road signals, or pedestrians, and they were only looking at reaction times.  Imagine the damage that would be caused in a real life roadway setting.   Imagine driving down your  Interstate 95,  only to be reaer ended by someone who stopped 70 feet to late because of text messaging.   

Seven states have banned text messaging for all drivers: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey and Washington. The District of Columbia also bans all drivers from text-messaging.   In addition, novice drivers are banned from texting in nine states: Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.  School bus drivers are banned from text messaging in Arkansas, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

Based on the test done in Car and Driver,  every state has laws against driving while intoxicated and this Daytona Beach Injury Attorney thinks that every state should have a law against texting while driving as well.