Texting and driving don’t mix, just as suspected
Sending or receiving messages proves even worse than cell phone calls for young adults on simulators
By Nathan Seppa
Text messaging while driving leads to slowed reaction time, unplanned lane changes and more collisions, according to a new study published online December 21 in Human Factors. The finding bolsters other research showing that texting and even using MP3 players don’t mix well with driving.
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This finding might seem like a no-brainer, and in some states texting while driving is illegal. But the effects of texting while driving have not been extensively studied, says study coauthor Frank Drews, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
The practice is certainly widespread among young drivers. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that one-fourth of adolescents age 16 or 17 reporting having texted while driving and nearly half of teenagers of all ages report having been in a car while the driver was texting.