Trauma: SMS and driving
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Research and NRMA media release.
British Medical Journal
12 July 2005. According to a recent British Medical Journal study - conducted in Australia - mobile phones make motor vehicle crashes four times more likely.
The full report is attached at right.
Media release NRMA
2 June 2005: Eyes stray dangerously when text messaging.
Young drivers spend four times the amount of driving time with their eyes off the road when illegally sending SMS messages than motorists who obey the law, according to new research by NRMA Motoring & Services and NRMA Insurance.
NRMA road safety expert, John Brown, said the research - conducted for the first time ever in Australia - found young drivers who text messaged while driving spent 12 out of every 30 seconds with their eyes diverted from the road, posing a significant safety risk to themselves and other road users.
The research was conducted using a simulator at Monash University Accident Research Centre to monitor the driving behaviour of 20 drivers aged between 18 and 21 while sending text messages. The findings will be presented at the NRMA-sponsored Driver Distraction Conference to be held in Sydney today.
"We have known anecdotally that text messaging while driving is a major distraction and can be dangerous," Mr Brown said.
"This research, conducted in Australia for the first time, has quantified just how dramatic an impact messaging has on a driver's focus on the road and how it adversely affects driving performance.
"We found that when driving and sending messages at the same time, young drivers would veer out of their lane 63 per cent more frequently.
"Also, the drivers in the study made 140 per cent more incorrect lane changes by not noticing or correctly reading signs when text messaging."
NRMA Insurance Road Safety Manager, Pam Leicester, said the research focused on young drivers who had held their licence for six months or less.
"Despite their perceived competence as text messengers, these are young, inexperienced drivers and it is clear that it is impossible for them to text message and drive safely at the same time. The results show almost every aspect of their driving performance was adversely affected," Ms Leicester said.
"In order to send a text message while driving, motorists need to take their eyes off the road and split their attention between the task of driving and text messaging. Motorists simply cannot do both competently and without putting themselves at an increased risk of having a crash.
"It is interesting to note, that participants recognised the increased safety risk of text messaging while driving, yet many still take the unnecessary risk to retrieve or send messages.
"Drivers need to be more aware of the dangers of texting while driving. We recommend motorists simply don't use mobiles while driving and pull over if you need to communicate with someone."