A recent study suggests that while drivers in Louisiana and elsewhere are aware of the dangers of texting while driving, many refuse to change their behavior to avoid those risks. As more and more people make use of texting to communicate with friends, family and the workplace, the result could be a rise in car crashes that result from this form of distracted driving. For those who are injured in such an incident, the convenience of sending and receiving an instant message is far overshadowed by the harm that can come from texting while operating a motor vehicle.
The study is based on data collected by survey. Ninety percent of those asked reported that they are aware of the dangers of texting while driving. However, around three quarters of respondents admitted that they look at their phone while driving. Three out of every ten individuals stated that they believe that they are able to do multiple things at once while driving a vehicle.
This is where the true danger lies, according to one of the designers of the study and the founder of The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction. This man is also an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and asserts that the human brain is incapable of successfully handling multiple tasks at once. He believes that it is addiction to texting coupled with the urge to seek the sensations that accompany sending and receiving messages that lead individuals to text while driving.
For those in Louisiana who regularly travel the state’s roadways, this information should be taken to heart. Anyone who sends or receives text messages while operating a motor vehicle should understand that their ability to avoid car crashes while doing so is a product of luck, not skill. For those who do not text and driver, the knowledge that others are doing so on a regular basis should motivate defensive driving practices at all times.
Source: Fox News, “The dangerous psychology of texting while driving“, Brooke Crothers, Nov. 10, 2014
