How dangerous it is to drive and text message at the same time.

Dangers of Texting While Driving in Texas

Distracted driving in is rapidly becoming a major problem on U.S. road-ways.  An estimated twenty percent of crashes reported in 2009 involved some sort of driver distraction.  5,474 people were killed and an additional  448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that were reported to have involved distracted driving.

 
There are different kinds of distractions and they are broken down into three categories:

1. Visual distractions: which take your eyes off the road
2. Manual distractions: which take your hands off the wheel
3. Cognitive distractions: which take your mind off of driving.
   

Here is a list of ten things that distract drivers and what kind of distractions they are:

1. CELL PHONES: Cognitive / Manual
2. TALKING TO PASSENGERS: Cognitive / Possibly Visual
3. DAY DREAMING: Cognitive / Possibly Visual
4. ADJUSTING THE RADIO: Can be any and all types of distractions
5. FOOD/DRINK: Manual/ Visual
6. GPS: Can be any and all types of distractions
7. TV/DVD PLAYER: Can be any and all types of distractions
8. CHILDREN: Can be any and all types of distractions
9. RUBBERNECKING: Cognitive / Visual
                  

Most distractions require a driver's attention in multiple ways which severely inhibits a person's ability to drive safely.  If you find yourself being distracted while driving you should pull over off the roadway and park your vehicle.  This allows you to focus your full attention on what was distracting you and keeps you out of danger. 

Article written by comedy Driving, a Texas Defensive Driving Class