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28 Jul 2009
Motorists who send text messages while driving raise the risk of an accident by a factor of 20, according to researchers.
A report from the Virginia Tech University Transportation Institute said that sending an SMS while driving is a far greater danger than any other act associated with the use of a mobile phone in a moving vehicle.
The study found that, on average, sending a text message causes the driver to travel roughly the length of a football pitch without looking at the road.
Researchers found that drivers sending text messages were 23.2 times more likely to suffer a crash or near miss on the road. By comparison, the act of dialling a number increased the risk by 5.9 times, and talking or listening doubled the chances of a crash.
Predictably, tasks which require the driver to remove their eyes from the road for the longest period of time are the most dangerous. As such, researchers said that the dangers of simply talking on the phone while driving were overstated.
"These results show conclusively that a real key to significantly improving safety is keeping your eyes on the road," wrote the researchers.
"In contrast, 'cognitively intense' tasks (such as emotional conversations or 'books on tape') can have a measurable effect in the laboratory, but the actual driving risks are much lower in comparison."
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Do you agree?
How responsible are cell phone users?
I have a particular "hang-up" excuse the pun, on usage of cell phones while driving. To me, there is nothing that urgent in the majority of cases to justify using the cell phone while driving. Even making a call from cell phone while driving, I consider total lunacy and selfish. It not only puts the user at risk from an accident but everyone else on the road at that time. The amount of people I have seen stuck to their cell phone while coming out of a side street on to a major road and obviously what is paramount at that time, is the content of the phone call. Texting while driving just doesn't bear thinking about. I was at a craft fayre recently, when the person on neighbouring stall was expecting a friend to come in and take over from her. She was getting a little agitated that the friend had not arrived. She went on to texxt the awaited friend, and then exchanged text messages with them and learned she was on route and almost there. I cannot tell you what I thought or said regarding this incident, but believe me, I was not happy. I have writtern about this on our website blog:- www.waltertilger.com and have received some feedback. My answer to this lunacy from these cell phone users - take away their license for a few months. Fining is not the answer. I also feel the situation is worse in the USA than here in Britain.
Posted by: Melissa Hamilton-Tilger 07 Aug 2009