Driving While Texting Is Worst Than Driving Drunk
Posted 06-25-2009 at 02:55 PM by aepple
To cover different age ranges, two separate tests were set up on a road course--one with 22-year-old Jordan Brown, a Car & Driver intern, the other with the magazine's 37-year-old editor-in-chief, Eddie Alterman.
Using a Honda Pilot as the test vehicle, both drivers first drove a straight line and were told to hit the brake in response to a light that flashed on the dashboard. That measured their baseline reaction time. The second test had the drivers read a text message while driving; the third asked them to type a message while behind the wheel.
An additional test also compared the effects of DWT with driving while intoxicated, on the same day under the same road conditions. After downing enough alcohol to become legally drunk, the test subjects took to the road again.
The results showed that at 35 mph, it took a sober Brown an extra 21 feet to hit the brake while reading a text message, and an extra 16 feet while typing a message.
At 70 mph, it took him 30 extra feet to jam on the brake while reading a text, and an extra 31 feet while composing.
Those figures compared with an extra 7 feet at 35 mph and an extra 15 feet at 70 mph while intoxicated. However, in his drunken condition, Brown had to be told twice which lane to drive in--a dangerous scenario if he had been in actual traffic.
At 35 mph, a sober Alterman took an extra 188 feet to step on the brake while reading a text, and an extra 90 feet while typing a message.
At 70 mph, he took an extra 129 feet to hit the brake while reading a message, and an additional 319 feet while writing one.
While intoxicated, it took him at extra 7 feet at 35 mph and an extra 15 feet at 70 mph.
See Chart@
Road test shows texting slows reaction time | Wireless - CNET News
Texting While Driving: How Dangerous is it? - Feature/Features/Classic Cars/High Performance/Hot Lists/Reviews/Car and Driver - Car And Driver
Using a Honda Pilot as the test vehicle, both drivers first drove a straight line and were told to hit the brake in response to a light that flashed on the dashboard. That measured their baseline reaction time. The second test had the drivers read a text message while driving; the third asked them to type a message while behind the wheel.
An additional test also compared the effects of DWT with driving while intoxicated, on the same day under the same road conditions. After downing enough alcohol to become legally drunk, the test subjects took to the road again.
The results showed that at 35 mph, it took a sober Brown an extra 21 feet to hit the brake while reading a text message, and an extra 16 feet while typing a message.
At 70 mph, it took him 30 extra feet to jam on the brake while reading a text, and an extra 31 feet while composing.
Those figures compared with an extra 7 feet at 35 mph and an extra 15 feet at 70 mph while intoxicated. However, in his drunken condition, Brown had to be told twice which lane to drive in--a dangerous scenario if he had been in actual traffic.
At 35 mph, a sober Alterman took an extra 188 feet to step on the brake while reading a text, and an extra 90 feet while typing a message.
At 70 mph, he took an extra 129 feet to hit the brake while reading a message, and an additional 319 feet while writing one.
While intoxicated, it took him at extra 7 feet at 35 mph and an extra 15 feet at 70 mph.
See Chart@
Road test shows texting slows reaction time | Wireless - CNET News
Texting While Driving: How Dangerous is it? - Feature/Features/Classic Cars/High Performance/Hot Lists/Reviews/Car and Driver - Car And Driver
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true, I like it.Posted 07-16-2009 at 02:44 PM by taterfaith
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