Text messaging while driving doubles a motorist’s reaction time, severely increasing his risks of being involved in an accident. Those findings come from a study by the Texas Transportation Institute, and the researchers are warning that the accident risks of such behaviors are much greater than we currently appreciate.
Researchers at the Texas Transportation Institute put 42 motorists through a test track course. They found that when the motorist was driving at 30 mph, a 5-second delay in reaction time caused the motorist to travel 220 feet. When the motorist was driving at 60 mph, the delayed reaction time caused him to travel 440 feet in 5 seconds. When the person was not texting while driving, his reaction time was between one and two seconds.
These are not new findings. A study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in 2009 had found similar delayed reaction times when motorists were texting while driving, compared to other practices.
It’s ironic that these findings come from an Institute in Texas, one of the few states that has no ban against texting while driving for all motorists. The only restrictions in Texas are those banning texting while driving for motorists below 18 and inside school zones. There is enough evidence about the dangers of texting while driving for Texas lawmakers to act. In 2009, distracted driving killed 5500 people in traffic accidents, and caused about 500,000 injuries. Texas can no longer afford to brush aside this very serious safety issue.
Vuk Vujasinovic is a Houston car accident lawyer representing persons injured in car and auto accidents in Houston, across Texas and nationwide.
Vuk Vujasinovic is a Board Certified Houston personal injury attorney who practices Houston auto accident and other personal injury cases.
For more info on how Vuk can help you with your potential case please call him at (877) 724-7800 or fill out the contact form on the right.
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