I cannot over emphasize this very important message (and if you haven’t already, watch my video on this same topic). Please check out a recent study performed by the editorial staff at Car & Driver Magazine. Rigging a car with a red light to alert drivers when to brake, the magazine tested how long it takes to hit the brake when sober, when legally drunk at .08, when reading and e-mail, and when sending a text. The results are scary. Driving 70 miles per hour on a deserted air strip, Car & Driver editor Eddie Alterman was slower reacting and slower braking when e-mailing and texting than when under the influence of alcohol.
The results:
- Unimpaired: .54 seconds to brake
- Legally drunk: add 4 feet
- Reading e-mail: add 36 feet
- Sending a text: add 70 feet
The results itself are sobering. It only takes a second for a life altering event to occur. I have read many reports indicating that a car can travel the length of a football field in the time it takes a driver to write and send a text message. It is quite scary to think of the amount of drivers on the road who are operating their automobiles without due caution for other drivers on the road.
Drive safely.
If you are in the need of a personal injury attorney in the Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Largo, Pinellas Park, Bradenton, Sarasota, St. Petersburg or Trinity areas, contact me at matt@dolmanlaw.com