Texting While Driving is More Dangerous Than Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
A study in the UK claimed that texting while driving is actually more dangerous than drugs and alcohol. The study was conducted by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) for the British Royal Automobile Club Foundation in its attempt to compare the dangers posed by texting while driving and driving under the influence or DUI.
In the Philippines, House Bill No. 4917 proposed a Total Cell Phone Ban While Driving in the Philippines, gaining the approval of the public after having experienced numerous accidents while the driver of the vehicle is texting or calling (see related story on Accidents and Injuries Related to Texting and Cell Phone Use).
Going back to the study in the UK, researchers found out that
The study showed that drivers who text and drive become more than one third slower than if they were coherent and not texting – this was compared to a person at the DUI limit or under the influence of illegal drugs. Text messaging lowered reaction time by 35 percent, while people high on marijuana slowed down 21 percent and those who were drunk slowed down by 12 percent.
On top of those findings, people reading or writing text messages drifted out of their lane more than people who were focused solely on driving. Texters also had a more difficult maintaining a safe distance from cars around them.
Around half of British drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 text while driving, the RAC Foundation said.
“When texting, drivers are distracted by taking their hand off the wheel to use their phone, by trying to read small text on the phone display and by thinking about how to write their message,” said Dr. Nick Reed, TRL senior human factors researcher. “This combination of factors resulted in the impairments to reaction time and vehicle control that place the driver at a greater risk than having consumed alcohol to the legal limit for driving.”
In response to this, the government increased the fines of violators to discourage them to use their cell phones (particularly in texting) while driving. With this move, the safety of the drivers and passengers are also expected to increase and less accidents are hoped to happen.
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Ay ganun? Dangerous than drugs..siguro nga. Oy Fren PR1 kna rin..
Joy,
Yes dear friend. Texting while driving has claimed more lives than driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol in the past five years.
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Kuya Jessie, congrats ony our blog’s new PR. Pink Hues is my current fave blog kasi may PR na din. hehe. I often warn my father not to text and drive at the same time. Kasi nakakawala ng focus talaga.
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Elaine,
Yeah, congrats din. By the way, texting while driving should really be discouraged. It’s not healthy and safe while doing something on the cell phone while on the wheel. In driving, the basic rule is “EYES ON THE ROAD AT ALL TIMES.”
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[...] There’s a growing consensus that texting while driving is highly dangerous and many states are banning the practice altogether. This stems from a myriad of car accidents and studies indicating a strong correlation between texting and distracted driving. For example, a UK study revealed texting while driving was on par with driving while under the influence of alcohol… [...]
[...] on CarAugust 26, 2009 · Filed Under Internet News We already discussed before that Texting While Driving is More Dangerous than DUI. We’ve also provided some research information supporting this fact. It has been proven by [...]
What if you were texting while smoking MJ and drunk???? Aw man!!!
[...] to say that Texting While Driving is dangerous but this is true. In fact, research has proven that Texting While Driving is More Dangerous than DUI. It was even featured on an episode of MythBusters in Discovery Channel.Texting While Driving and [...]