Texting Study Finds Slower Driver Response Times

New findings from a Texas study show texting while driving is more dangerous than previously thought.

Reading or writing a text message behind the wheel can more than double a driver’s reaction time, according to a study by the Texas Transportation Institute.

“Our findings suggest that response times are even slower than what we originally thought,” said Christine Yager, a TTI researcher, who managed the study. “Texting while driving basically doubles a driver’s reaction time and makes the driver less able to respond to sudden roadway dangers, if a vehicle were to make a sudden stop in front of them or if a child was to run across the road.”

Reaction times slowed from one to two seconds with no texting activity, to three to four seconds while texting, the study found. The study found very little difference in response times between a driver composing a message and reading one.

Researchers studied 42 drivers between the ages of 16 and 54 on a test-track driving course in vehicles equipped with a flashing light and a monitoring system. By comparison, Yager said drivers going 30 mph travel 220 feet in five seconds. At 60 mph, a driver covers 440 feet in five seconds, she said.

Drivers in the study were more than 11 times more likely to miss the flashing light altogether when they were texting.

Texting and driving has already been deemed dangerous, with 34 states adopting texting and driving bans, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

The study also found texting impaired the ability to maintain proper lane position and a constant speed.