Texting While Driving Increases Crash Risk By 23 Times: Study

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Jul 29, 2009
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A STUDY by the US-based Virginia Tech Transportation Insitute has found that texting on a mobile phone while driving increased the risk of a crash 23-fold.

The study also found that dialling another phone raised the risk of a crash 2.8 times, while reaching for an object within the cabin (such as a phone or music player) increased the likelihood off a collision by 1.4 times.

The Virginia Tech study analysed footage obtained from participants vehicles and recorded the results of potentially distracting behaviour. Both truck drivers and passenger car drivers were observed under real-world driving conditions.

phone_text-driving_021However, the heightened crash risk figure for texting obtained by the study applies only to truck drivers, with no data collected for texting while driving a car.

Given the more visually-distracting nature of texting, though, it's easy to see why sending a text message while trying to handle a vehicle poses more of a risk than simply talking on a phone.

According to figures published by the Australian Traffic Safety Bureau (ATSB) early last year, around 43 percent of motorists on Australia's roads answered a call while driving, 36 percent made a phone call, 36 percent read a text message and 18 percent wrote a text message.

In Australia it is currently illegal for a driver to use a handheld mobile phone unless their vehicle is parked and the engine switched off.

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Comments

  • Ellimist [reply]
    8 months ago 0 points
    Kinda thought this would be obvious. clearly some people never learn though.
  • HERO [reply]
    8 months ago 0 points
    I heard about this study before and i like the idea . thanx
  • robbo [reply]
    8 months ago 0 points
    watched a lady with three kids in the back go through a red light whilst texting, she slammed the brakes, drove on and started texting again. i was in a bullbar'd light truck, was tempted to do the 'pit maneuver' to get her off the road, man i felt sorry for the kids, they know no better.
  • David [reply]
    8 months ago 0 points
    Traffic Accident studies out of Britain show quite clearly that whether a mobile phone is hand held, bluetooth or has a speaker setup is of little relevance. The bottom line is that using the phone whilst driving impairs a driver's ability at least much as driving whilst over the legal blood alcohol limit. We've all seen the clown on the motorway who slows down to 60 or weaves across lanes because he/she can't concentrate on two things at once.

    If governments are do be serious about road safety, they need to take these studies seriously and outlaw the use of mobile phones by drivers when a car is in motion; and to have the same penalty as driving under the influence, not a piddly fine but automatic loss of licence. No ifs, no buts.

    As someone who can survive without a phone for th e duration of a drive, I simply switch it off or let messages go through to voicemail. It's not rocket science, not even difficult. I'm tired of seeing dozens of morons every day endangering the lives of my children because they're - well - total morons, really!
  • R12s [reply]
    8 months ago 0 points
    I'm with you David.
    It's one of my pet peev's and I agree with your statements.
  • abc [reply]
    8 months ago 0 points
    i wish i got a photo of this idiot female p plater.. driving with high beams on in the middle of the day, on the phone and drove straight through a red light..

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