Texting and Driving
Nineteen states and Washington, D.C., have banned it. The Transportation Department prohibits truckers and bus drivers from doing it. President Obama has outlawed the practice for all federal employees and thinks it should be forbidden in every state. Does anyone know what I’m talking about? Texting while driving. My intentions are to persuade you to think twice next time you pull out your phone while driving. I’m going to touch on why texting while driving is bad, a couple of studies that provide shocking evidence on how impaired someone is when they are texting and driving and vs. driving drunk.
Nowadays, we can find many studies that examine the effects of texting while driving. The one conclusion they all seem to have is that texting impairs a driver’s abilities. One of the most obvious things that happen when a driver is texting while driving is that the driver would avert his or her eyes from the road for around five seconds. This is more than enough time for a person to run in front of the vehicle or for the vehicle in front of you to make a sudden stop or to miss seeing the light change. Despite all that,
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The study solely focused on the driver’s reaction times to a light mounted on the windshield at eye level, meant to simulate a lead car’s brake lights. The test was conducted on an old airplane runway, away from pedestrians, traffic, and real life driving conditions. The passenger would trigger the light and the driver was instructed to brake every time he saw the red light. While reading a text and driving at 35 mph, the driver’s average baseline reaction time of 0.57 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. Think of what could happen in 41-45 feet if you’re not paying attention while