“The fault, dear drivers, is not in our stars, but in
ourselves...”
by David Greiser
Between 4,000 and 8,000 crashes related to distracted driving
occur daily in the United States, according to the American Automobile
Association. Cell phone use is the fastest growing form of distraction.
Research shows that dialing a cell phone and using or reaching for an
electronic device while driving increases the risk of collision about six times.
In the moments before a crash, drivers typically spent nearly five seconds
looking at their devices, enough time at typical highway speeds to cover more
than the length of a football field. In July of this year the New York Times
published NHTSA data (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/technology/21distracted.html)
showing that highway safety researchers estimated that cell phone use by
drivers caused around 955 fatalities and 240,000 accidents in 2002
(http://documents.nytimes.com/documents-from-the-u-s-department-of-transportation-s-national-highway-traffic-safety-administration#p=1).
Texting is the most distracting activity for drivers using cell
phones. Texting while driving is the act of sending or reading text messages or
email while operating a motor vehicle. Study results published by the Virginia
Tech Transportation Institute
(http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2009&itemno=571) found that
when drivers of heavy trucks texted, their collision risk was 23 times greater
than when not texting. The risk for drivers of cars and small trucks will be
released later this year but is expected to be similar. The Institute reported
that driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes and near-crashes,
with nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involving some
form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event. The portion
of those texting is unknown but significant.
It’s even worse for teens, our least experienced drivers. A study
by AAA reports (http://www.aaanewsroom.net/Main/Default.asp?CategoryID=7&ArticleID=554)
that an alarming 46 percent of teens admitted to being distracted while driving
due to texting. Combine this information with the fact that vehicle crashes are
the leading cause of death for those under the age of 34 in Kansas and it
becomes clear that teens texting while driving is a lethal cocktail.
Car and Driver magazine conducted a recent experiment showed
that texting while driving had a greater impact on safety than driving drunk.
According to Car and Driver
(http://www.caranddriver.com/features/09q2/texting_while_driving_how_dangerous_is_it_-feature),
“While reading a text and driving at 35 mph, Editor Eddie Alterman’s average
baseline reaction time of 0.57 second nearly tripled, to 1.44 seconds. While
texting, his response time was 1.36 seconds. These figures correspond to an
extra 45 and 41 feet, respectively, before hitting the brakes. His reaction
time after drinking averaged 0.64 second and, by comparison, added only seven
feet. The results at 70 mph were similar: Alterman’s response time while
reading a text was 0.35 second longer than his base performance of 0.56 second,
and writing a text added 0.68 second to his reaction time. But his intoxicated
number increased only 0.04 second over the base score, to a total of 0.60
second.”
The public correctly views drinking and driving as wrong. But when
it comes to texting and driving, we are not as outraged. How many more
accidents and deaths will it take to change that attitude?
Fourteen states have already passed laws prohibiting texting while
driving (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/technology/29distracted.html). It is
time for the other 36 to do the same.
David Greiser is a Public Affairs Manager with KDOT.
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