Posts Tagged ‘Road Accidents’

Texting While Driving – Is this abuse leading to road accidents?

Posted on Jun 10, 2010

Texting is one of the most convenient and cheapest ways of communicating. However, this technology has brought with it some dangers as some individuals have become so addicted to texting that they even send and receive text messaging while driving. With American sending over a trillion texts each year, texting have become an embedded part of our culture. Some teenagers even admit to being addicted to text messaging and themselves send over 500 texts per day.

Effect of Texting of Stopping Distance

A recent study showed that the average braking distance for drivers reading text message increases significantly when compared to drivers that are more alert. In a recent test conducted in Florida, the results showed a reaction time while sending and receiving text messages was worse than that of a drunk driver. He posted a reaction time of .68 seconds while driving at 70 miles per hour that resulted in an extra 70 feet before stopping. The same driver then posted a reaction time of 0.04 seconds when driving unimpaired. Additional test also revealed that texting while driving is creates a risk 2.8 times higher than driving and talking on the phone. The results of this test thus solidify the theories promoted that texting while driving is dangerous and has resulted in a significant increase in rear-enders and even fatal traffic accidents.

What can be done about Texting while Driving?

Unlike talking on the phone while driving, it is more difficult for the authorities to clamp down on texting while diving. Apart from the odd event when you are actually seen texting while driving by a police officer, all efforts to control the habit have been futile. Some states such as Florida have tried to ban all cell phone activity while driving, this however have been met with stiff resistance. As a result, they gave resorted to a significant public awareness campaign that educates the driving public about the dangers of texting while driving.

Contribution of Cell Phone Manufacturers

At the higher end of the spectrum, cell phone manufacturers are offering some cell phones that come with voice activated text messaging. The problem with this is these features only come on expensive super phones that are normally out of the reach of normal nine to five workers who use the highways daily. They have not yet found a way to transfer this technology down to regular phone sets where legislators can now take action to implement voice activated texting while driving. In the future, we do hope that this happen, as it will surely result in a reduction in the number of text messaging related accidents on the streets.

Personal Responsibility about Texting while Driving

As drivers, we must take responsibility for our actions. We must be aware of the dangers of texting while driving. In addition, we must also resist the temptation of sending text messages to individuals who we think are driving at the time. TV star Oprah Winfrey recently announced on her show that she has adapted as a policy not to accept text messages while driving a car nor send text messages to drivers. The population as a whole must emulate this concept.