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Drunk drivers are the biggest villains on the road. About every 48 minutes a drunk driver will kill someone in the US. Getting behind the wheel while drunk is arguably one of the most selfish things anyone can do while driving. In 2009, drunk drivers accounted for the devastating statistic of 10,839 deaths. Since the usage of cellphones is growing more and more common, a new on-road threat has emerged that now rivals the dangers imposed by drunk drivers. Heck, this socially accepted menace has even stole the DWI title from the drunks: Driving While Intexticated. Many of us have at one time or another texted while driving without consciously understanding what’s at stake. No matter how good of a driver you think you are, sending a text message while driving is like playing russian roulette. Sooner or later the bullet is going to be in the chamber. So let’s take a look at the facts before this happens:
Car and Driver Magazine conducted a study that evaluated the driving reaction time of editor Eddie Alterman based on a baseline reaction time, the reaction time while legally intoxicated and the reaction times of reading and composing a text message. The baseline results indicated that Eddie’s reaction time to brake took only .54 seconds. While legally drunk, Eddie overshot their baseline braking distance by four feet (Note the test was conducted on an empty runway). Sober Eddie’s braking skills were then put to the test while he was reading a text message. He overshot his original braking distance by 36 feet. That’s four times the distance of his baseline! To produce the most surprising result, Eddie ‘s stopping skills were put to the test while he was composing a text. He overshot his baseline braking distance by 70 feet! Think about how much chaos can happen in 70 feet of unattended driving!
Unfortunately, not every case of texting while driving occurs during a research experiment. The number of deaths attributed to texting-related accidents is astounding. Between 2001 and 2007, 16,141 people died as a result of texting while driving. Five years later in 2012, think about how many more people have cell phones. The answer is 88% of Americans! According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, a driver that is texting while driving is 23X more likely to get into a car accident. The Institute for Highway Safety Fatality Facts reports 11 teen deaths every day as a result of texting while driving. The facts are grim my friends. Click here to see a good illustration of more findings. Still not convinced of how real this problem is? Ask Aaron Deveau and I reckon he’ll tell you otherwise.
