Texting and driving: How dangerous is it?
According to a nationwide insurance study, approximately 20 percent of all drivers are texting while they are driving. How dangerous is texting and driving?
Office Marian Cosgrove of the Owensboro Police Department in Kentucky says, “We see it all day long. People trying to do different things and drive at the same time and we also see the results of the accidents people end up with. All the excuses of why they occurred, you know the other things they’re trying to do instead of drive.”
Channel 14 in Owensboro, put four driver to the test on a road course to see how well they could drive and text. Without the cell phone in their hands, all drivers were able to clear the course with no problem. Their concentration was on the road.
Once they had a cell phone in their hands, the course became more difficult.
Sherman Wilson, one of the testers said “I didn’t have a whole of trouble with the course when I just drove, it. Trying to text message and drive with one hand is just next to impossible."
When all the testers had cell phones in hand, they had to slow down considerably to drive around the cones.
A camera placed inside the car revealed the distraction and the frustration the drivers experienced while trying to send a text message with one hand and driving with the other.
Stephanie Thomas, another tester admits, “I’ve had a couple times actually while I’ve been texting, actually while I’ve been driving and I had to slam on my brakes to keep from hitting somebody.”
In Illinois and Kentucky school bus drivers are banned from cell phone use while they are driving. Illinois has banned cell phone use for drivers under age 19 according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Association.
