“Average time texting drivers have their eyes off the road to send or read a text is 4.6 seconds”
What does texting and driving has to do with healthcare? Well according to US Transportation Department, texting and driving is deadlier than drinking and driving. If this isn’t taking control of your healthcare, nothing is. Below is the complete story from Liberty Mutal:
That’s [4.6 seconds] how much more likely a texting driver is to be involved in a crash than one who isn’t texting, according to a study from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI).
Laura McKenzie and her two youngest children know how dangerous such distracted drivers can be. When a texter swerved into her lane on busy Interstate 59 in Alabama, McKenzie escaped to the median to avoid a collision.
Because 85 percent of Americans own cell phones, the driving-while-texting problem is likely to get worse, particularly with young people, says Stephen Wallace, chairman and CEO of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions). “There’s a myth of invincibility with teenagers,” he says.
Research proves no one is safe from the dangers of texting and driving. The VTTI study found that texting requires the most eyes-off-road time of any distraction. “Those who think they aren’t looking at the keyboard are still taking their eyes off the road long enough for the situation in front of them to change—and for them to not be able to react quickly enough to avoid a crash,” says Sherri Box, VTTI public relations and marketing manager.
Not only is texting while driving dangerous—in 18 states and Washington, D.C., it’s illegal. Despite these laws, public awareness campaigns and frightening research findings, drivers continue to type and read messages. “Texters aren’t aware of how distracted they are,” says Dave Melton, industry director of transportation with the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety. “They expect other drivers to compensate, but you can’t count on that.”
Visit www.ghsa.org for the Governors Highway Safety Association’s updates on driving laws regulating cell phones and texting.
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Picture courtesy of Flickr user ericathompson.
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