Study of Truck Accidents While Drivers Texting
The first scientific study of car and truck crashes which occur while drivers are texting has revealed surprisingly data that indicates the risks far exceed previous estimates. Furthermore the risk posed by texting drivers far surpasses the dangers of other driving distractions.
The new study, conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, involved outfitting the cabs of long-haul trucks with video cameras over 18 months. It found that when the drivers texted, their collision risk was 23 times greater than when not texting.
In the moments before a crash or near crash, drivers typically spent nearly five seconds looking at their devices. That is enough time at typical highway speeds to cover more than the length of a football field.
Even though trucks take longer to stop and are less maneuverable than cars, the findings generally applied to all drivers, who tend to exhibit the same behaviors as the more than 100 truckers studied, the researchers said. Truckers, they said, do not appear to text more or less than typical car drivers, but they said the study did not compare use patterns that way.
The trucks were equipped with video cameras and tracked for three million miles as they hauled goods across the country. Even as frightening as the results is the fact that the truck drivers knew they were being recorded and continued to text while driving.
Tom Dingus, director of the Virginia Tech institute, said the study’s message was clear. Texting should never be done while driving.
Thirty-six states do not ban texting while driving;
