This will shock you into never text-driving | video
Would you close your eyes to drive 50 metres through traffic. If you've texted while driving, that's effectively what you've done. And at highway speeds, make that around 100 metres of blind driving.
Thousands of car crashes every year are due to distracted driving -- and many drivers and passengers aren't lucky enough to survive. Research shows that texting is one of the worst driving distractions.
Making you 23 times more likely to crash, texting even comes ahead of talking on the phone as driving danger. It distracts you for an average of five seconds per time to read or respond -- and five seconds with your eyes off the road at even 60km/h is 50 metres that you've travelled while 'text blindfolded'.
Despite the figures, and despite the knowledge of the death toll and injury impact, people still continue to pick up their phones while driving. So, leading up to the expected carnage of the coming Easter long weekend, the US Department of Transportation, in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a hard-hitting warning of what can happen.
Their message is that the action in the video is the reason they'll be out on the road ticketing texting drivers... "U Drive. U Text. U Pay". Frankly, as the video points out, we'd rather pay a ticket and get a heads-up -- and eyes-up -- than pay the ultimate price for texting.
Watch the desktop version of the never text-driving video here.
This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott
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