As the author of this column, pillar of the traffic reporting community and an outspoken opponent of texting while driving, I decided to make a life change in January. Realizing the inherent dangers of texting behind the wheel, I went out and bought a new smart phone that allowed me to “voice-text.” I just speak into my phone and my text message is sent. I felt it was my duty as a “noted traffic expert” to set a good example for drivers in the metro area.
Voice texting is certainly safer than manually texting, right?
Well, apparently not.
According to a recently release study by researchers at Texas A&M, voice texting is just as distracting, and just as dangerous as manual texting.
The study included 43 participants who were asked to drive on a closed course. The drivers were asked to drive on the course without texting, while manually texting and using two types of voice texting. The results blew apart the theory that voice texting is safe.
“Results indicate that driver reaction times were nearly two times slower than the baseline condition, no matter which texting method was used,” the study concluded.
Not only was voice texting just as distracting as regular texting, over all driving ability fell off as well.
“Eye gazes to the forward roadway also significantly decreased compared to baseline, no matter which texting method was used,” said the study. “Additionally, it took drivers longer to complete the same texting task using the voice-to-text applications than it did when texting manually.”
Voice texting it seems, is not the answer to texting while driving. Two things are clear. We are driving more than ever and we are certainly texting more than ever.
According to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, the average number of text messages sent in the U.S. per day jumped from 31 million in 2002 to 6.1 billion in 2012. That number is only going to climb higher as text messaging becomes the preferred method of communication for more and more people.
So, what is the next step?
No matter how dangerous it is, no matter how stiff the penalties are, use of mobile devices in our cars is going to continue, especially as our smart phones become capable of doing more and more things.
Think about it. Our phones have become like another appendage. I know co-workers who have driven to work, realized they left their phone at home, and then turned around and drove back home to get it. Simply put, to many of us, our phones are indispensable.
I can’t think of an easy solution to the texting while driving problem. There’s going to have to be a serious meeting of minds between smart phone developers, automotive engineers and drivers like us. As the recent study showed, voice texting is not the safe answer.
About the Author
