Virginia Tech Transportation Institute


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Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

2010 has brought with it many new driving laws regarding cell phone usage. At one time, it seemed that a large number of people casually held the wheel with one hand while pressing their phone to their ear with the other. Many folks were driving and cell phone texting while steering. Many states have chosen to bring an end to this type of distracted driving behavior, due to its dangerous nature.

Studies Show Texting While Driving to be Highly Dangerous

New Hampshire, Oregon, and Illinois are the latest in the list of 19 states to ban texting while driving. In a 2006 naturalistic study done by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, the risks of texting while operating a vehicle were shown to be much greater than talking on a cell phone. Researchers studied over 200 drivers in both cars and trucks to see what their level of distraction was while dialing a cell phone, talking and listening on a phone, and text messaging. It was shown that those who text are 23 times more likely to crash or nearly crash than those who are not distracted. Comparatively, those who talk on a cell phone are about 1.3 times as likely to crash.

The reasons why texting and driving is so dangerous may seem obvious to some, but this study puts it in perspective. Study participants' eyes were analyzed while they texted, dialed, and talked while driving to see how long their eyes were off the road. Texting had the longest duration of eyes off the road, with an average of 4 seconds during a 6 second period. The study states that, "This equates to a driver traveling the length of a football field at 55 mph without looking at the roadway." (Box, Sherri, New Data from VTTI Provides Insight into Cell Phone Use and Driving Distraction, July, 2009)