Rant alert – You might think it is common sense to assume that texting while driving could be rather unhealthy, especially if you are typing and miss that red light in front of you. But some things may simply be too obvious inconvenient to believe and to adjust to – and we need to be reminded countless times of potential consequences. So, how many studies and accidents do we need to understand how dangerous texting while driving really is? How many more studies do lawmakers need?

Researchers from the University of Utah today revealed results of a new study that (again) claims that texting while driving increases your risk to cause a car crash substantially. The study included 40 participants in a simulated driving environment that had a close look at how driving skills deteriorate when we are distracted by talking on a cellphone, by texting or both. The key result: There were seven collisions caused by seven different participants. Six of the seven crashes occurred in a “dual-task condition, that is, while participants were text messaging while operating the vehicle.” The researchers concluded that texting on a cellphone increases the likelihood of a car crash by a factor of six.

You can read about the study in all of its scientific detail here (PDF download). The short summary:

“Forty participants engaged in both a single task (driving) and a dual task (driving and text messaging) in a high-fidelity driving simulator. Results: Analysis of driving performance revealed that participants in the dual-task condition responded more slowly to the onset of braking lights and showed impairments in forward and lateral control compared with a driving-only condition. Moreover, text-messaging drivers were involved in more crashes than drivers not engaged in text messaging. Conclusion: Text messaging while driving has a negative impact on simulated driving performance. This negative impact appears to exceed the impact of conversing on a cell phone while driving.”

Surprised? Not really. Your eyes should be on the road and not on a tiny cell phone screen while driving a big metal box, no matter if that is at 65 mph on a freeway or at 25 mph in a school zone. Sure, texting has become a common activity in our lives, but we should be sensible enough and not ext while driving. If we believe recent reports, especially teenagers are ignoring text driving laws. Perhaps we and our kids need more accidents before we are taking the dangers of texting while driving more serious. Studies, this is the fourth of its kind I have read in the past 12 months, are clearly not enough – heck, they aren’t enough to convince our law makers to pass consistent text driving laws across the nation.

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, only 21 U.S. states currently ban texting while driving. 9 additional states have limited bans such as bans for novice drivers.

No state completely bans all types of cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) for all drivers, but many prohibit cell phone use by certain segments of the population. For example, 21 states and the District of Columbia ban all cell use by novice drivers.

12 states – Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming – have no restrictions on cell phone use while driving. In those states, you can talk and txt as much as you want without having to be afraid to get a ticket. And some states have come up with rather creative ways to create alibis or limit the restrictions of cell phone use while driving: For example, Illinois bans the use of cell phones while driving in a school zone or in a highway construction zone. Maine, New Hampshire and Utah treat cell phone use as a larger distracted or careless driving issue. Utah’s law defines careless driving as committing a moving violation (other than speeding) while distracted by use of a handheld cellphone or other activities not related to driving. In Michigan, teens with probationary licenses whose cell phone usage contributes to a traffic crash or ticket may not use a cell phone while driving.

Your guess is as good as mine why there are no stricter restrictions in place in most states of this country.

Tags: cell phone, technology

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