A recent study has concluded that drivers sending text messages while driving take twice as long to respond to traffic signals as those who are not distracted by texting, according to recent news sources.
The study was conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute of Texas A&M University and included 42 subjects between the ages of 16 and 54. The participants took an eleven mile test drive and were told to stop when they saw a flashing yellow light.
Drivers who were not texting took one to two seconds to respond to the lights. Those who were texting took three to four seconds. The texting drivers were also eleven times more likely to miss the lights altogether.
According to AAA, about 95% of motorists believe that texting or emailing on the road is a serious threat to their safety. However, about a third of them had done so in the last month. AAA has speculated that actually more than a third have texted, but not everyone will admit it.
As a Los Angeles car accident lawyer, I hope that everyone will take this statistic to heart and put down their cell phones while on the road. In my experience as a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer, I’ve seen distracted drivers cause serious and devastating accidents that could have easily been avoided had they been paying attention.
