Texting worse than drinking for motorists

TEXTING while driving can put drivers at greater risk than if they were drunk, a Midlands transport expert has warned.

Reaction times for text-drivers in emergencies often fall below those of drink drivers, said Professor Andrew Parkes, of Coventry University’s Centre for Mobility and Transport.

He believes a cultural shift needs to happen around fiddling with phones on the road.

“Drivers are thinking about their chances of getting away with it rather than the potential catastrophic consequences,” he said.

“But a driver who texts and drives is around 13 times more likely to be involved in a collision, and their reaction times in emergency events are often longer than drivers intoxicated by alcohol. It’s critical to raise awareness of these issues to the point where – like drinking and driving – texting behind the wheel is seen as bad, risky and socially unacceptable.

“Nowadays, people even struggle to remember the detail of a TV show if they’re on a call or checking social media at the same time – if they’re driving, this lack of awareness can be fatal.”

Many drivers think talking on a smartphone is no more distracting than talking to a passenger.

But accident statistics show otherwise, with some estimates indicating as many as 28 per cent of all accidents and fatalities are caused by drivers using phones.