According to a poll given Tuesday, August 7, 91 % of Americans agree that text messaging while driving is just as dangerous as driving after having a few alcoholic beverages, but 57% admit that they do it.
The Harris Interactive survey, given by the cell phone messaging service Pinger Inc., found that 89% of respondents believe that messaging while driving should be banned because the act is very dangerous.
Of those polled, 66% said they had read text messages and e-mails while driving, and another 57% said they have sent them while driving in the car. In May, Wisconsin was the first state to ban text messaging while driving and now six other states are considering the same law. The poll included 2,049 people from the U.S. and took place from June 29 to July 3.
The majority of people that text message while they drive are young people, many of whom have only been driving a few years. Having these inexperienced drivers texting on the road is a very dangerous combination. Text messaging while driving significantly slows your reaction time.
One news team conducted a low-speed open course test to check reaction time while texting at 10 mph. When the person behind the wheel sent a text message, he had traveled 29 feet in only a few seconds. Even at this low speed, there could be a disastrous accident.
A recent accident that took the lives of 5 high school graduates may have been caused by texting and driving. Just moments before Bailey Goodman’s car swerved into the path of a tractor-trailer she had sent and received several text messages.
A Harvard study indicated that cell phone users are 4 to 5 times more likely to be involved in auto accidents than non-users. The risk for text messaging is probably higher because it requires more attention.