Despite widespread research indicating that texting while driving can cause dangerous — even deadly — distractions, the behavior remains rampant, according to a new survey.
The survey is the work of Vlingo, a company that makes software that translates spoken messages into text or e-mail on mobile phones. Yes, that gives Vlingo a vested interest in establishing that D.W.T. (Driving While Texting) is rampant, and that an alternative is preferable.
The company’s survey – drawn from a sample of 4,800 online participants – found that 26 percent of respondents sent texts while driving. That’s about the same number of participants as last year, when the company
found that 28 percent D.W.T.
Not surprisingly, the behavior varies by age group. About 60 percent of people 16 to 19 reported D.W.T., compared to 49 percent of people 20 to 29, and 13 percent of people over 50.
The behavior also varied by state. The states with the highest percentage of text drivers: Tennessee (42 percent), New Jersey (35 percent), Alabama (34), Idaho (33) and Oklahoma (31.7).
There is a growing body of research that shows that texting while driving causes serious distraction — not just because it can take the hands off the wheel and eyes off the road, but also because driver
attention is directed away from wielding a multithousand-pound steel car.
But the research also might undermine Vlingo’s hopes that speaking into a phone is a safer alternative. A considerable body of research shows that even when people use hands-free technology, their attention spans are considerably divided — making them four times more likely to be involved in a crash than when not engaged in a virtual conversation.