For some time now, supporters of hands-free texting and voice-activated texting technologies have insisted that these technologies help reduce the risk of accidents because they do not require the use of hands and fingers to type text messages.However, a new study debunks that fact.The study shows that persons who use hands-free tools are just as much at risk of being involved in a car accident as persons who manually type text messages.
The research was conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University recently.According to researchers, it does not matter whether you use a hands-free texting technology or voice-activated system to dictate text messages, or manually type a text the old-fashioned way using your fingers.The risk of distraction is just as strong in the former method as in the latter one.
It’s estimated that Americans exchange as many as 6.1 billion text messages every day.Our Atlanta car accident lawyers also believe that many millions of those texts are exchanged by people while driving.With those kinds of staggering numbers, it is very important that motorists not be lulled into the false assumption that they’re protected from accidents if they’re using a voice-activated texting system.That may not be true at all.
In the study, researchers used a tracking device to measure the level of distraction when a person uses a voice-activated texting technology.They measured how many times the person looked at the road while dictating or reading text messages, and how long it took the driver to complete each text.Researchers also focused on how long the drivers took to respond to a light that flashed periodically.
They found that voice-activated technologies and applications do not necessarily minimize the risk of accidents, compared to manual texting.The researchers focused their test on two voice-activated systems that have been developed for the iPhone and android devices.
This research supports what many roadway safety experts have been saying all along-the distractions when you text while driving do not come merely from the use of fingers to type messages on your keypad, but also from the lack of cognitive focus and concentration on the task of driving.When you’re typing a text message, your mind is focused on the message, and not on looking out for accidents in your driving environment, or watching out for pedestrians or objects that create dangerous situations.
The results of the study are very disturbing, because surveys do seem to indicate that many Americans are now using voice-activated technologies to type texts.Texting while driving also seems to be widespread, with as many as 35% of drivers recently admitting that they had read a text or e-mail while driving, while 26% admitted to typing a text while driving.