Car and Driver Magazine recently released results of driving tests that observed braking reaction times for drivers when texting and reading texts and compared them to those when the drivers were legally drunk. The results revealed drivers had worse reaction times when texting and reading than when drunk.
Admit it.
You've done it.
You've been driving down the side street (and yes, the highway as well) when your phone, blackberry, or whatever you use to call and text with goes off.
You immediately grab it, even though you are driving in traffic and really shouldn't.
It's a dangerous and terrible habit American drivers have developed.
The folks at Car and Driver Magazine have now documented just dangerous it can be.
Rigging a car with a red light to alert drivers when to brake, the magazine tested how long it takes to hit the brake when sober, when legally drunk at .08, when reading and e-mail, and when sending a text. The results are scary. Driving 70 miles per hour on a deserted air strip Car and Driver editor Eddie Alterman was slower and slower reacting and braking when e-mailing and texting.
The results:
Unimpaired: .54 seconds to brake
Legally drunk: add 4 feet
Reading e-mail: add 36 feet
Sending a text: add 70 feet
Source: CNBC
http://www.cnbc.com/id/31545004/site/14081545
