Texting Increases Crash Risk

Well this is a good news for those people who likes multi tasking while driving hehehehe, Reports said that text messaging behind the wheel increases the risk of a crash or a near crash by 23 times, and is far more dangerous than talking on a cellphone while driving. Well its obvious while texting your focus is on the cellphone, on what you are texting. One can talk on a cellphone while not taking their eyes off the road.

"Text messaging on a cellphone was associated with the highest risk off all cellphone related task." According to the study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. They have also found that text messaging resulted in the longest duration of "eyes off road time"--4.6 seconds over a six second interval.

It recommended that"texting and dialing, should always be avoided" and called for text messaging to be banned in moving vehicles. (now that's kinda harsh but if it helps why not). According to the New York Times, texting while driving is banned in 14 of the 50 US states.

The NHTSA research, which tracked cellphone use by US drivers in 2002, found that 955 people were killed during 240,000 roadway accidents while speaking or texting on a cellphone.