Texting While Driving Worse than Drunk Driving? | Washington Personal Injury Lawyer

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In my line of work I witness severe car accidents caused by intoxicated drivers on a daily bases, what people don’t seem to realize is how equally dangerous distracted driving is. Being a Bellevue Personal Injury Lawyer and Seattle Wrongful Death Attorney I am exposed to a world that most people are protected from – the severe injury, disfigurement, and death of individuals caused by someone not paying attention at the wheel. While you may think drunk driving is the leading cause of motor vehicle accidents, in reality 80% of accidents are caused by distracted drivers while only 33% are caused by drunk drivers.

A recent study by Car and Driver suggests texting while driving is even more of an impairment than drinking and driving. The Study took place on an airport runway and measured the reaction times of two males ages 22 and 37 while texting vs. while intoxicated at the 0.08 legal limit.

The test subjects were monitored driving at both 35 mph and 70 mph- undistracted, reading a text, sending a text and while intoxicated. A light mounted on the windshield served as a simulated break light- which was controlled by a passanger in the car. The test subjects were measured by both reaction time from when the light was activated and the extra distance they traveled.

The results were not encouraging. While driving under the influence the drivers took an extra 4 feet to stop at 35 mph and an extra 7.5 feet at 70 mph. This increased substantially when texting to 25.5 feet at 35 mph and 23.5 feet at 70 mph.

Considering how society views texting vs drinking these results are a little disconcerting. Recent studies by the National Safety Council suggest that 28% of accidents are caused by drivers texting behind the wheel yet a large portion of the population considers texting safer and less harmful than driving intoxicated.

I do not condone drunk driving- it has caused injury to far too many people, but I do think this puts text messaging and driving into perspective. The reason the number of distracted driving incidents is so much higher than drunk driving is simple -it is socially acceptable to drive distracted while drunk driving is frowned upon. Only when the public becomes aware of the consequences of driving distracted will these statistics alter.

One Response to “Texting While Driving Worse than Drunk Driving? | Washington Personal Injury Lawyer”

carol myers Says:
May 4th, 2012 at 8:45 pm
Thank you for raising awareness of this danger, and especially the stigma attached to drunk drivers vs. those who text. If convicted of a DUI/DWI, the consequences are severe and harsh, even for first time offenders. MADD has had enormous clout in pushing for harsher penalties for DUIs, however, the hypocrisy remains when it comes to recent research indicating that texting is MORE dangerous.

Those who are convicted of DUIs are treated like “criminals,” and are subject to long probationary time, fees, jail time, drug tests, increased auto insurance rates, license suspensions, and difficulty finding employment. Although texting might be banned while driving in some states, the consequences do not even come close to those of DUI convictions.