Texting while driving photo from Car and Driver July 2009 issue
Driving while texting is a safety hazard that can be even more dumb and dangerous than driving while drunk and driving under the influence, or DUI.
Recently, Car and Driver did a controlled study, on a protected straightaway with no other traffic, no road signs or stoplights and no pedestrians, and the results are pretty scary. The same two drivers had slower reaction times while texting than they did after a couple of belts put them over the legal limit and they drove the route again.
The entire report is in the July 2009 issue, complete with videos and a gallery of photos. Take a look -- it will scare you out of dialing or texting on your cellphone, iPhone or BlackBerry while you are driving.
And the issue of driving distracted and texting is front page news in The New York Times, which quotes a Harvard study estimating that cellphone distractions cause 2,600 deaths a year, and 330,000 accidents that result in moderate or severe injuries. To you, to your passengers, to people in another vehicle, or to pedestrians.
More than 100 billion text messages -- yes, billion with a 'b' -- were sent in December 2008, and it's a fair assumption that a chunk of those were LOL and OMG messages from behind the wheel.
A Virginia Tech study shows it takes just three seconds inattention -- fumbling with a iPod control, dashboard NAV system, turning around to stop the kids from fighting in the backseat, or reaching over to pick up the half-eaten Krispy Kreme that slid off your lap -- to cause an accident. And texting takes longer than three seconds.
There have been laws against drunk driving and DUI, for dozens of years, and in just about every country of the world. But that has not stopped drunk driving and DUI and the accidents, injuries and deaths they cause. Even though a growing number of states have legislated against the use of hand-held devices while driving, that's unlikely to stop DWD -- driving while dialing -- or DWT -- driving while texting -- until you or somebody you love is involved in a DWD or DWT accident, you might not stop either. Or, maybe you're just too smart already to take your eyes off the road to focus on a tiny QWERTY keyboard instead.
So, OMG, that's just plain DUMB, and nothing to LOL.
Visit www.Car-and-Travel.com for more articles by Evelyn Kanter
Comments
The issue was solved by the legislature here in Washington this past session.
Quoting from RCW (Revised Code of Washington)
RCW 46.61.510
Driving while stupid.
(1) A person is guilty of driving while stupid if the person drives a vehicle within this state:
(a) And the person has exhibited stupid behavior as defined in RCW 46.61.501; or
...
(5) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor.
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