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Drivers who are texting much more apt to crash

Drivers who are texting much more apt to crash

WASHINGTON -- Motorists who are text messaging are 23 times as likely to be involved in a crash or near-accident as those not distracted, according to a study of truck drivers.

The analysis aimed to show the effect of mobile phones in actual driving conditions rather than simulations, Virginia Tech's Transportation Institute said yesterday. It said its research was based on data gleaned from cameras and instruments in vehicles.

Drivers of trucks and "heavy vehicles" who were text messaging also took their eyes off the road for the longest period of any motorists distracted by mobile devices -- at 4.6 seconds over a 6-second interval, the institute found. At 55 mph, that equates to traveling the length of a football field without looking at the road.

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Talking or listening on a mobile phone let people keep their eyes on the road and was less risky, the study found. Drivers of cars and light trucks talking or listening on a mobile phone had a risk of crash or near-crash that was 1.3 times higher than for non-distracted drivers. Truck operators talking or listening on mobile phones had a similar risk.

The findings are at odds with studies using simulators showing that talking and listening are as dangerous as are visually distracting mobile-phone tasks, the institute said. "The tasks that draw the driver's eyes away from the forward roadway were those with the highest risk," the study said.

The institute urged a ban on all drivers' texting.

First Published: July 28, 2009, 4:00 a.m.

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