Texting while driving equals 20x risk of crash

By Sheilah Downey

Imagine driving 100 yards down a highway at 55 mph without looking. If you are texting while you are driving, that's pretty much what you're doing, according to research from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) released yesterday.

The risk of a vehicle crash can be up to 20 times higher when the driver is texting, than when a driver is paying full attention to the road, according to researchers.

The average time spent looking at a cell phone while texting was 4.6 seconds over a six second interval, said the team, about the time it takes to drive across a football field at 55 mph without looking.

If the texting trend continues in popularity, said the VTTI, a "true crash epidemic" is possible.

Apparently the trend is thriving. Eight out of 10 cell phone owners admit they talk and drive, according to a 2008 survey from Nationwide Mutual. And 18 percent of those admit to texting while driving.

Alarmingly, 45 percent of drivers in the survey reported they were involved in a crash or near-accident with a driver who was using a cellphone, according to Nationwide.

The VTTI recommends that texting in moving vehicles should be banned for all drivers.