Texting while driving

Texting while driving is the act of sending and receiving text messages while operating a motor vehicle. Most view texting while driving as a form of reckless driving, but the practice has become a source of controversy and confusion as state legislatures struggle to keep pace with cell phone technology's rapid advancements. Although almost no one has publicly argued that texting while driving is a practice that should be continued—let alone encouraged—a 2021 survey by the American Automobile Association (AAA) found that roughly 51 percent of drivers admitted to texting while driving.

Overview

Experts consider texting while driving dangerous because it distracts drivers. To send a text-based message, a driver must take their eyes off the road, shift their concentration away from the act of driving, and remove at least one hand from the vehicle's steering wheel. Various studies have attempted to show exactly how distracting sending a text while driving can be. While all the studies agree that drivers become less proficient when attempting to use their cell phone to send a message, the precise decrease in driver proficiency is still a matter of debate.

The issue of texting and driving is relatively new, and misinformation is very common. For example, a commonly cited statistic from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute indicates that texting while driving makes a driver twenty-three times more likely to be involved in a crash. While startling, the statistic is almost certainly inaccurate. The particular study from which this statistic arose involved only commercial drivers operating tractor-trailers. When the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute performed a more in-depth, follow-up study involving ordinary drivers in regular cars, sport-utility vehicles (SUVs), and trucks, it found significantly different results. In that study, texting while driving delayed a driver's reaction time enough to make him or her twice as likely to become engaged in a "safety-critical event," which includes anything from being forced to hit one's brakes to a motor vehicle accident. The results of the second study showed that texting while driving is undeniably more dangerous than paying attention to the road; however, it also showed that people were nowhere near twenty-three times more likely to crash. Despite this, various high-circulation news outlets printed the statistic from the first study, and many websites owned by state and federal governments displayed it.

Additional studies have shown that using vocal command applications found on modern smartphones, such as Apple's Siri, instead of texting does little to reduce driver impairment. Such studies suggest that texting drivers are dangerous because they divide their attention, not because their hands are occupied. A study by Car and Driver conducted on a closed course with non-professional drivers went so far as to say that texting while driving impairs a driver more than a blood alcohol content of .08 percent, which is legally driving drunk. Moreover, University of Utah–AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety studies found that voice-activated systems on smartphones and built into car systems demand higher levels of user attention than talking on a phone does and thus increase the length of time during which a driver is distracted from the road.

In response to these studies, most states have passed legislation related to texting while driving. In 2007, Washington state became the first state to ban text messaging. By 2024, forty-nine states had passed laws banning texting while driving. Thirty states, Washington, DC, and the US territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands had banned the use of handheld cellular devices while driving, but most still allowed the use of dictation and voice commands, as long as their use required no physical contact with the phone. The only place without any laws banning cellphone use while driving was the state of Montana. Despite their widespread implementation, bans on texting while driving have proven difficult, if not impossible, to enforce. According to police officers, most drivers simply keep their phone in their lap, where passing officers cannot see it. Even if an officer sees a driver texting, it is nearly impossible to prove in court that the offender was not entering information into a phone-based global positioning system (GPS), changing songs, or dialing a phone number, all of which are legal in many states. According to a police officer from Florida, the only reliable way to make a citation for texting while driving is for the driver to admit to the crime.

Enforcing texting bans is difficult enough, but many question whether the laws serve their purpose at all. The Highway Loss Institute compared statistics from before and after anti-texting laws passed in Louisiana, California, Washington, and Minnesota and declared that the number of car crashes in those states had not decreased. What confuses researchers is that cameras and witness reports prove that cell phone use while driving does decline in areas where these laws have been enacted. One possible explanation is that phone users in these areas have switched en masse to hands-free devices, which are usually legal. Another possible explanation is that drivers who comply with the ban are not the drivers who would cause accidents in the first place. Distracted driving can take many forms, from changing the radio station to eating or applying makeup. If a person is prone to distracted driving, taking away one source of distraction will not change how he or she acts.

While the Highway Loss Institute insists that the practice of texting while driving is dangerous, it is not convinced that laws banning it will help the problem. Instead, many officials believe the solution is similar to the method used to encourage seat belt use and discourage drunk driving: Educate children about the dangers of the habit from a young age and work gradually toward changing society's perception of the crime. Research has backed up this approach, showing that peers and family members who text while driving influenced teenagers' distracted-driving behavior.

Technology has been widely championed as an antidote. Wireless providers and phone manufacturers have created anti-distraction smartphone applications that identify when the phone is present in a moving car, through Bluetooth technology or GPS or motion sensors, and temporarily disable features such as text messaging and phone calls while the vehicle is in operation. Some such apps can also control sound, navigation, or social media apps, or even monitor and report on unsafe driving habits, such as high speed or sudden braking. Manual overrides enable passengers to continue using their phones normally, but also may allow drivers to circumvent the precautions. Manual overrides enable passengers to continue using their phones normally, but also may allow drivers to circumvent the precautions. Similarly, geofencing devices installed in a vehicle can switch off distracting phone features within the vehicle. According to the nonprofit National Safety Council, these tools appeal most to parents and employers, who can use them to enforce rules about phone use.

By the late 2010s and early 2020s, automakers had begun piloting cellphone safety features. For some members of the public, the promise of autonomous vehicles (or self-driving cars) represented the best means of eliminating the danger inherent in texting while driving.

Bibliography

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Campbell, Peter, and Tim Bradshaw. "Technology That Aims to Prevent the Car Text Crash." Financial Times, 21 July 2017, www.ft.com/content/80bde170-5e00-11e7-b553-e2df1b0c3220. Accessed 3 May 2018.

"Distracted Driving: Cellphone Use." National Conference of State Legislatures, 24 July 2024, www.ncsl.org/transportation/distracted-driving-cellphone-use. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.

"Distracted Driving." Governors Highway Safety Association, June 2024, www.ghsa.org/state-laws/issues/distracted%20driving. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.

"New AAA Survey Reveals Half of Drivers Admit to Being “Intexticated” When in Car Alone." American Automobile Association, 1 Apr. 2021, newsne-aaa.iprsoftware.com/news/new-aaa-survey-reveals-half-of-drivers-admit-to-being-intexticated-when-in-car-alone. Accessed 23 Feb. 2023.

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Richtel, Matt. "Texting and Driving? Watch Out for the Textalyzer." New York Times. New York Times, 27 Apr. 2016. Web. 19 May 2016.

"Technologies Can Reduce Cell Phone Distracted Driving." National Safety Council, www.nsc.org/road-safety/safety-topics/distracted-driving/technology-solutions. Accessed 3 May 2018.

"Up to 27 Seconds of Inattention after Talking to Your Car or Smartphone: Distraction Rated 'High' for Most Devices while Driving." UNews, University of Utah, 22 Oct. 2015, unews.utah.edu/up-to-27-seconds-of-inattention-after-talking-to-your-car-or-smart-phone. Accessed 3 May 2018.