Interesting research from the United Kingdom on the dangers of texting while driving. A small sample of drivers were used in the study, but nonetheless, the findings aren't surprising. Prohibiting texting while driving should be pretty high on a parent's expectations for teen drivers!
Texting behind the wheel is more dangerous than driving while under the influence of alcohol or marijuana, researchers said recently.
Research carried out on 17 young drivers (aged 17-24) using a simulator found that reaction time slowed by 35% when they were writing or reading text messages while driving. In comparison, reaction time deteriorated by 21% for those under the influence of marijuana, and by 12% at the legal alcohol limit.
Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) -- which carried out the study for the RAC Foundation -- also found that steering control worsened by 91% for those who were distracted by texts, compared to 35% when cannabis was involved.
The tests also showed that texters were less able to maintain safe distances from other cars and they tended to drift out of their lane more often.
Source: Yahoo!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080918/wl_uk_afp/britaintransportsociety
