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How Does Texting Cause Car Crashes?

On Behalf of | Feb 24, 2022 | Motor Vehicle Accidents |

When a driver gets behind the wheel of their car, they take not only their own life into their hands, but the life of every passenger in their car and every other vehicle on the road. Driving is a serious responsibility that people need to treat with caution.

This means avoiding any and all behaviors that could put anyone on the road at risk. This includes distracted driving behaviors such as texting while driving.

High dangerous crash rates

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration takes a look at the relationship between crashing and texting. Experts have stated for some time now that texting while driving drastically increases a driver’s chance of getting into a car crash. Not only that, but the crashes these drivers get into also tend to have higher rates of serious and lethal injury.

Studies attempt to explain this connection and generally tie it to the fact that texting distracts so many of a driver’s senses. This includes their vision, their contact with the steering wheel, and their mental clarity.

Texting and mental distraction

Of course, it is a huge problem when drivers take their hands off the wheel to type or look away from the road to read a message. Some hands-free devices claim to combat these distractions through the use of voice commands and audio message relay options.

However, no matter what, a driver will have mental distractions when focusing on a conversation instead of on the road. Just one small distraction could end up causing a collision, so even this small possibility can cause harm. Thus, drivers should avoid any and all forms of texting while driving at all costs.