Texting most dangerous phone activity while driving

TEXT messaging while driving increased the risk of a crash or a near crash by more than 23 times, a new study has found.

“Text messaging on a cell phone was associated with the highest risk of all cell phone related tasks,” the report by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) found.

“The tasks that draw the driver’s eyes away from the forward roadway were those with the highest risk.”

Studies conducted by the VTTI found that text messaging resulted in the longest duration of “eyes off road time” — 4.6 seconds over a six-second interval.

“This equates to a driver travelling the length of a football field (100 yards/metres) at 55 miles per hour [88.5km per hour] without looking at the roadway,” it said.

“Talking/listening [on] a cell phone allowed drivers to maintain eyes on the road and were not associated with an increased safety risk to nearly the same degree,” it said.

The study found that the risk of a crash or a near crash in a light vehicle or car while dialling on a cell phone was 2.8 times higher than non-distracted driving.

It was 1.3 times higher when it came to talking or listening on a mobile phone and 1.4 times higher when reaching for an object such as an electronic device.

In heavy vehicles or trucks, the risk of a crash or near crash was 5.9 times higher when dialling a mobile phone; 1.0 times higher while talking or listening on a mobile phone; and 6.7 times higher when reaching for a device.

For truck drivers, the risk of a crash or near crash was 23.2 times higher while texting than for non-distracted driving, a figure considered equivalent for other drivers.

For the report, the VTTI used cameras and other instruments to observe light vehicle and truck drivers involved in more than six million miles (nearly 10 million kilometres) of driving.

“These results show conclusively that a real key to significantly improving safety is keeping your eyes on the road,” the VTTI said.