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Abstract
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Researchers and safety advocates have known for years that driving performance worsens when the driver is texting. Now we know just how much worse.
Federal statistics suggest that distracted driving contributes to as much as 20 percent of all fatal crashes, and that cell phones constitute the primary source of driver distraction. Researchers point to two numbers to illustrate the magnitude of the texting-while-driving problem: an estimated 5 billion text messages are sent each day in the United States, and at least 20 percent of all drivers have admitted to texting while driving.
The study consisted of three major steps. First, participants typed a story of their choice (usually a simple fairy tale) and also read and answered questions related to another story, both on their smart phone in a laboratory setting.
Each participant then navigated a test-track course involving both an open section and a section lined with construction barrels. Drivers first drove the course without texting and then repeated both lab tasks separately while driving through the course again. Throughout the test-track exercise, each participant's reaction time to a periodic flashing light was recorded.
Reaction times with no texting activity were typically between one and two seconds. Reaction times while texting, however, were at least three to four seconds. Worse yet, drivers were more than 11 times more likely to miss the flashing light altogether when they were texting.
Keywords: Driver distraction;
Language: en |