DUI or Texting while driving which is worse?
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Though most people have accepted that texting while driving is dangerous, a quick trip around your local city will provide you with more than enough evidence that it is still rampant. If you’re still a skeptic, take a look first-hand look at the possibilities of texting while driving.
Even outside of the car texting is proving to be a huge distraction to the simplest of tasks, even walking down the street. Doctors are now citing texting as the culprit for ankle sprains, bumps and bruises people incur while using the oldest form of transportation known to man.
In a car, you are a danger to not only yourself but to those around you and that is the biggest point being proven in the latest study by Car and Drive Magazine on the subject. Here, two people who work for Car and Driver Magazine (people who you’d assume know a thing or two about driving) are tasked with extrapolating the inherent dangers in not focusing on the road and in particular, technology use. In this experiment these two people are given the task of observing a red light at both 35, and 70 mph speeds. Then, things are "kicked up a notch" as the two drivers are observed in modified situations while typing a text, reading e-mail and under the influence of alcohol. You'd be surprised by the results. One driver nearly tripled his reaction time to the red light while reading an e-mail at a mere 35 mph. At 70 mph, a reaction time was more than doubled while typing and sending a text. In all instances, the extra distance traveled was far above the norm which speaks volumes to the many "rush hour" accidents that are experienced from gridlock on a highway.
In the sort of game that no one can win, texting and e-mailing fared worse than driving while impaired. With all the focus on drunk driving it’s quite possible that some safety educational resources should be split on informing the public on the dangers of using alcohol and technology while driving. A study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found technology to be all over the top 5 in their “Top 10 distractions for Drivers” list.
Only six states have currently banned the use of cell phones while driving and 24 states do not have any regulations on cell phone use while driving. Hopefully it won’t be long before more safety measures are put into place to curb the abuse of textind and irresponsible driving.