Sending text messages from your mobile phone while driving is more dangerous than climbing behind the wheel under the influence of drink or drugs, a study by Britain's Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has found.
The reaction times of people texting as they drove fell by 35 percent, while those who had consumed the legal limit of alcohol, or taken cannabis, fell by 21 percent and 12 percent respectively, according to the study.
The study, which was commissioned by motoring group RAC Foundation, also found that the ability to stay in lanes or maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front was worse than drivers under the influence of cannabis.
"This research demonstrates how dangerous it is to drive and text," TRL Senior Human Factors Researcher Nick Reed said in a statement.
He said drivers who texted were distracted by taking their hand off the wheel to use their phone, by trying to read small text on the phone display and by thinking about how to write their message.
"This combination of factors resulted in the impairments to reaction time and vehicle control that place the driver at a greater risk than having consumed alcohol to the legal limit for driving," Reed told reporters.
One conclusion researchers made about why texting is so dangerous is the length of time it takes to compose a message while driving.
The TRL said that composing a text message behind the wheel took 63 seconds, in which time a car travels half a mile within town centre speed limits and over a mile within motorway speed limits.
Nearly half of all 18-24 year-olds admitted to texting as they drove, a separate survey by the RAC Foundation discovered.
The TRL study selected 17 people from the 18-24 year-old age group to take part in a simulated road test, in which they were asked to read, write, and ignore texts on a variety of roads.
"The participants in this study were almost unanimous in their view that drink-driving was the most dangerous action on the road," RAC Director Stephen Glaister said.
He said the research clearly showed that a motorist who is texting is significantly more impaired than a motorist at the legal limit for alcohol.
"No responsible motorist would drink and drive," Glaister said in the statement. "We need to ensure that text devotees understand that texting is one of the most hazardous things that can be done while in charge of a motor car."
英國交通研究實(shí)驗室（TRL）日前開(kāi)展的一項研究發(fā)現，開(kāi)車(chē)時(shí)發(fā)短信比酒后或服藥后開(kāi)車(chē)更危險。
研究顯示，開(kāi)車(chē)時(shí)發(fā)短信的人反應能力會(huì )下降35%，而少量飲酒后駕車(chē)或者服用過(guò)大麻的人則分別下降21%和12%。
此外，該項受“英國皇家飛行俱樂(lè )部（RAC）基金會(huì )駕駛組”委托開(kāi)展的研究發(fā)現，開(kāi)車(chē)時(shí)發(fā)短信的人控制車(chē)道和保持安全車(chē)距的能力比服用了大麻的司機差。
“交通研究實(shí)驗室人為因素組”資深研究員尼克?里德在一份聲明中說(shuō)：“這項研究表明，開(kāi)車(chē)時(shí)發(fā)短信有多么危險。”
他說(shuō)，如果你在開(kāi)車(chē)時(shí)發(fā)短信，就必須從方向盤(pán)上騰出一只手來(lái)去拿手機查看信息，還要想著(zhù)如何回復，這都會(huì )分散你的注意力。
里德在接受采訪(fǎng)時(shí)說(shuō)：“這幾個(gè)因素會(huì )影響司機的反應速度和對車(chē)的控制能力，由此產(chǎn)生的風(fēng)險比少量飲酒后開(kāi)車(chē)還要大。”
為什么開(kāi)車(chē)時(shí)發(fā)短信如此危險呢？研究人員得出的結論是，問(wèn)題就出在編寫(xiě)短信的那段時(shí)間。
交通實(shí)驗室稱(chēng)，開(kāi)車(chē)時(shí)編寫(xiě)一條短信需要63秒的時(shí)間，而車(chē)在63秒內可在市區行駛半英里，在高速公路上則可行駛一英里以上。
“英國皇家飛行俱樂(lè )部基金會(huì )”開(kāi)展的另一項調查顯示，在18歲至24歲的受訪(fǎng)者中，近一半的人承認自己在開(kāi)車(chē)時(shí)發(fā)過(guò)短信。
交通研究試驗室從這一年齡段的受訪(fǎng)者中挑選了17人參加一個(gè)模擬駕駛測試，要求他們在不同的路況下查看、編寫(xiě)或不看短信。
英國皇家飛行俱樂(lè )部主管斯蒂芬?格萊斯特說(shuō)：“受訪(fǎng)者幾乎一致認為酒后駕車(chē)最危險。
而研究結果清楚地表明，開(kāi)車(chē)時(shí)發(fā)短信的人比酒后駕車(chē)的人反應要遲鈍得多。”
格萊斯特在聲明中說(shuō)：“酒后駕車(chē)是不負責任的表現。所以我們要讓愛(ài)發(fā)短信的人意識到，發(fā)短信是他們開(kāi)車(chē)時(shí)最危險的行為之一。”
