Dashboard death wish: UMass simulator details risks of texting at the wheel
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AMHERST - A person is 20 times more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle accident while writing a text message than at any other time, according to University of Massachusetts research.
And younger drivers are more likely to indulge in distractions while driving than more experienced motorists, the research notes.
The data, part of ongoing driving-while-distracted research at the flagship's Human Performance Lab, comes at a time when state lawmakers are considering legislation to ban texting while behind the wheel - and perhaps cell phone use in general.
In 2008, 5,870 people lost their lives and an estimated 515,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes that involved at least one form of driver distraction, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
"Driver distraction" is a catch-all term that includes cell phone use, texting while driving, eating, drinking and talking with passengers, as well as using in-vehicle technologies and portable electronic devices.
Tracy M. Zafian, the Human Performance Lab manager said UMass research indicates that distraction is the "main issue" when it comes to unsafe driving.
"Anything that distracts a driver away from the front roadway is a serious issue," said Zafian.
Legislative action
Earlier this month, the Senate voted in step with the House to ban text-messaging while driving. The two legislative bodies have also approved legislation that would make texting while driving a primary offense, which means police could stop and cite drivers if they observe the behavior.
The Senate's bill on driving differs with the House version. The House measure would ban all cell phone use while driving, except for hands-free units. The Senate bill makes no such ban. The two pieces of legislation will be merged in committee and given to the governor for approval.
In 2009, more than 135 billion text messages were sent or received in a one-month period nationwide, an 80 percent increase over the rate in 2008, according to the traffic safety administration.
UMass researchers found that text messaging pulls a driver's attention away from the road more than twice the amount of time a motorist would be distracted by other in-car activities, such as turning on the defroster or changing the radio station.
"It was just a confirmation of what people suspected," said Matthew Romoser, a senior research scientist who worked on the study. "We find a lot of drivers understand the risk of distracted driving, but choose to ignore that."
A driver will glance away from the road for about 2.6 seconds when texting, compared to 1.1 seconds when the driver is not.
Most accidents attributed to texting come from crashing into something directly ahead, such as a stopped car or pedestrian, said Donald L. Fisher, head of the Human Performance Laboratory.
"A 2-second glance away from the road is all it takes," he said.
More vulnerable
Younger, unexperienced drivers are far more likely to look away from the road for more than 2 seconds than more experienced drivers (motorists age 25 or older). In lab tests, drivers under age 19 looked away from the road for more than 2 seconds about 60 percent of the time while texting, compared to 20 percent among older drivers.
Nearly half of teen drivers admitted to texting while driving in a 2007 survey by the American Auto Association.
To conduct driving-while-texting research, UMass scientists used a $750,000 driving simulator - a 1995 Saturn sedan refurbished to measure the reactions of drivers on the road and a state-of-the-art set of goggles that track eye movement.
The Saturn is stable (it has no engine) and is set before three theater screens that display prerecorded driving scenarios. The goggles, which look like safety glasses, monitor the motion of a person's pupils with infrared beams and mirrors.
Researchers asked volunteers of different ages to perform tasks while driving in the lab's simulator. Tasks included texting, checking a road map and turning on the heater, among other things. The research is supported by the National Institutes of Health, as well as automakers and insurers interested in designing cars for better driver safety, Zafian said.
Fisher said he supports legislative efforts to control cell phone use while driving. Twenty states have banned texting while driving.
"A law would turn us toward creating a culture of safety," he said in a statement. "Drivers will certainly take it more seriously if it's a primary offense. Compliance will go up. What our studies show is that texting and driving is dangerous and cannot be performed safely by anyone."
