Patricia Hamori

Eva Debreceni

Driving and Texting: Why is it Dangerous?

Driving is one of the most complex of tasks, which requires multiple cognitive skills
including attention and decision making, as well as being responsible, and well aware of the
intentions of other drivers. Many people are aware of the potential dangers of driving
distractions, yet they are continuously multitasking, using their handheld device for
connecting with people (see figure 1). Studies revealed risk of any accident significantly
rises when people use phones for texting. One of the many instances show the fatalities of
driving distractions, such as the California commuter train crash, where the train driver was
involved in text messaging just seconds before the crash, killing multiple people, and injured
hundreds. (Eckstein et al., 2009) More than 9 people are killed in car accidents every day in
the United States, and more 1060 are injured according to the Centers for Disease Control
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). People still feel an urgent need to
address important calls, and messages, even if they know it is dangerous. What are the so-
called driving distractions and why texting while driving is so dangerous?

(source: www.rita.dot.gov)

Multitasking
Many would argue that texting has a little impact on driving, or has no impact at all, but
statistics tell us the opposite. In a report from Royal Automobile Club (RAC) Foundation
(2008) 45% of the drivers were texting while driving, and quarter of this group frequently
sent and received text messages in a busy traffic road. From all driving distractions (such as
changing radio station, discipline children, applying mascara, having a conversation with the
passengers, phone calls, taking selfies), texting is the riskiest behavior, even compared to
driving while intoxicated texting has far more negative effect on attention, resulting 23 times
more likely to crash. (Caird et al., 2014). People who are concurrently texting while operating
a vehicle are withdrawing their attention from the road for a prolonged period, while sudden
potential hazards happen, or unexpected objects appear in the driving scene. Many driving
studies showed that those people who are texting while driving and in the same time took
their eyes off the road, made more frequent inappropriate lane changes than those who were
just speaking on the phone. (Crisler et al., 2008; Libby and Chaparro, 2009; Hosking et al.,
2009).

Secondary tasks
Naturalistic studies found that secondary tasks when the drivers were looking away from the
roadway also increased the risk of crashes. When a secondary task carried out drivers have
significantly slower response times, compared to when they are solely concentrate on driving.
Such multitasking reduces the ability to direct attention to the road, respond to important
traffic events, control a vehicle within a lane, maintain speed and headway. Secondary task
can be a conversation; however, it is difficult to measure a cognitive demand of a
conversation unless audio is also collected. Naturalistic studies show us that secondary task,
which involves driver’s hands and eyes, for example visual or manual tasks, increased the
likelihood of a crash more than secondary tasks, which are not involving visual or manual
tasks (Accidental Analysis Prevention, 2007). Talking on a cell phone do not appear to
increase a risk although it has been described as a cognitive distraction in the literature.

(source: www.starlocalmedia.com)

Distractions
According to Strayer, Watson, & Drews (2011) there are 3 sources of distraction. The first is
competition for visual processing, when a driver simply just looking at the device instead of
looking at the road, followed by manual interference, when they take their hands off the
wheel to the device, and the last is cognitive source, when all the attention is focused
somewhere else, rather than operating the automobile. What happening in the brain when
distractions occur? Cognitive distraction can also be measured through brain activity, such
brain parts, areas which are responsible for necessary driving events. Strayer and Drew
revealed that drivers were suppressing information in their brain when they were driving and
texting simultaneously. (Strayer et al., 2011) People cannot focus on two tasks with the same
mental focus. One of the task will always be the priority task, which will require most of our
attention and the secondary task will result most of the time in errors, if we are trying to do
them in the exact same time. Strayer also studied, what information drivers attended in the
roadway. They found that in the single task driving condition, people were two times more
likely to recognize object, compared to when they were multitasking. (Strayer & Drews,
2003). Indeed Strayer and Drews were the first to talk about “inattentional blindness” behind
the wheel (Strayer, Cooper, & Drews , 2004). We do not see objects, or events when we are
preoccupied with our phones. As the drivers attention fade away from driving his or her
reaction time will be greater/longer to unexpected objects or sudden appearance of potential
hazards. Even if we recognize the hazards before crashing into them, it may be too late, as in
our reaction time will be significantly greater or longer, which means there might not be
enough time to hit the breaks, or move the wheel, it will not stop the car immediately.
Inattentional blindness also refers to the fact that we might not see the lady wanting to cross
the street, the kids running to the road trying to catch a ball, things happening in the corner of
the eye, things that we are unaware of. However despite all the risks associated with driving
and texting, people continue to multitask behind the wheel. In a recent study, 91 percent of
students admitted they were frequently sent text messages while driving, even if they
believed in the danger of driving, and thought it should be illegal. (Atchley, Atwood, &
Boulton, 2011; Harrison, 2011)

Conclusion
Texting and driving is a global issue. There is a deeply social and rewarding underlying
behavior causing the distracted driving, for example posting on social media, texting with
friends (Atchley et al., 2012) Distracted driving in general are far more common than drunk
driving. This increase the chance of texting and driving in the future, because this behavior
will become normal. Drivers are aware of the dangers of it, yet it can lead them to feel that
this activity, or conditions are safe, because of the cognitive dissonance effect (Festinger,
1964; Harmon-Jones and Mills, 1999) In order to address this issue people must hold driver`s
education programs in schools and the workplace, and parents must show an example from
early age. Parents have a huge impact on establishing the child`s social norms, and safe
behaviors. People must shift their social norms, and changes needed in driving education and
training. Changes in laws helps to create new social norms. Anti-texting laws are not severe
enough, prosecutors and legislators should impose greater laws to banish texting while

driving. To conclude texting and driving is not happening because of the absence of
perceived risk, but rather because of the disassociation between norms ruling the behavior
and knowledge of danger (Atchley et al., 2012). Therefore, preventions cannot simply consist
of risk awareness campaigns, but it should instead deal with norms, or should enforce strict
laws against texting and driving.
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