Driving While Texting: Here's Proof It'll Kill You

Researcher Tom Dingus

If you think the jury is still out on the dangers of yakking or texting while driving, you can close that door. Researchers at Virginia will tell you otherwise today, based on measurable research.

Here's some of what they found, according to Rich Hanowski, of the Center for Truck and Bus Safety: "Taking your eyes off the road to dial a cell phone or look up an address and send a text increases the risk of crashing by 600 to 2,300 percent."

The paper is titled "Estimating Crash Risk" and is written by Tom Dingus, director of the transportation institute, Hanowski and Charlie Klauer, research scientist at the transportation institute. It recently received the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society’s 2012 Best Ergonomics in Design Article Award.

Klauer says, "The tasks that we should focus heavily on correcting are the newer cell phone tasks of texting, typing, reading, dialing, and reaching for a phone."

 The researchers conclude with recommendations found here.