Test Demonstrates Texting While Behind The Wheel Can Be Even More Dangerous Than Impaired Driving

RJ Note: As I recall being a young driver, swerving cars usually meant drinking and driving. Now, it appears the honor for swerving cars now can indicate driving while talking or texting. How many times do you pass a swerving car and say to yourself "get off the phone and drive"?

I usually make sure I am at a complete stop before I try to talk on the phone. And I never text while driving. After all, it can take my complete dedication to listening to what is being said. Shoot, sometimes I can't even watch TV and talk at the same time.

/PRNewswire/ -- Text messaging is on the rise, and undoubtedly, some "texters" or "tweeters" are sending and receiving messages while driving. In December 2008, more than 110 billion messages were being sent each month, up from less than 10 billion just three years ago. To gauge the effect of these road messagers, Car and Driver magazine decided to conduct a road test to determine just how dangerous texting and driving can be. The results were eye-opening.

Previous academic studies have shown texting while driving using simulators impairs a driver's abilities. But as far as we know, no study has been conducted in a real vehicle that is being driven. In addition, Car and Driver also compared the results of texting to the effects of drunk driving, on the same day and under the exact same conditions.

The focus of the test was solely on the driver's reaction time. All of the driving was done in a straight line on an 11,800-foot runway. Given the prevalence of the BlackBerry, the iPhone, and other text-friendly mobile phones, the test subjects would have devices with full QWERTY keypads and would be familiar with text messaging. A web intern 22, armed with an iPhone, would represent the younger crowd. The older demographic would be covered by Editor-in-Chief, Eddie Alterman, 37.

After conducting the texting tests on both drivers at 35 mph and 70 mph, the test subjects then drank alcoholic cocktails until they reached the legal driving limit of 0.08 percent blood-alcohol content. They then went back behind the wheel and ran the identical test without any texting distractions.

The results showed even using a straight road without any traffic, road signals, or pedestrians, and looking just at reaction times, the texting results were even worse than the negative impaired driving results.

Both socially and legally, drunk driving is completely unacceptable. Texting, on the other hand, is still in its formative period with respect to laws and opinion. A few jurisdictions have passed ordinances against texting while driving. But even if sweeping legislation were passed today to outlaw any typing behind the wheel, it would still be very difficult to enforce the law.

As summarized by Alterman, "In our test, neither of us had any idea texting would slow down our reaction time so much. Like most folks, we believe we are good drivers, but the real key to driving safely is keeping your eyes and your mind on the road. Text messaging distracts any driver from those primary tasks."

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Record UPS Contingent Drives Way to National Championships

RJ Note: Who knew? Must be the reason we rarely see driving issues with these guys. Kudos to Georgia's own Scott Cain in the competition.

BUSINESS WIRE --A record 33 UPS and UPS Freight state champions will test their skills against the nation’s top professional drivers in next month’s American Trucking Associations’ National Truck Driving Championships.

This year’s UPS (NYSE:UPS) team, a mix of veterans and newcomers to the national stage, have collectively accumulated 110 state titles and logged more than 500 years of accident-free driving. The event takes place Aug. 18-23 in Houston.

“Our nine first-time state champions are further evidence that the safety practices and skills that have been a hallmark of our drivers for many years are being passed on to the next generation of UPS and UPS Freight drivers,” said Phil Warren, UPS Freight vice president for community affairs. “For UPS and all competitors, the Nationals represent a showcase of our industry’s top professional drivers.”

The UPS team includes two former national champions, West Virginians Clarence Jenkins and Roger Lanham. Jenkins, a UPS Freight driver from Charleston, garnered the first of his West Virginia record 13 state championships in 1983 and won his national title in 1988. Lanham, who captured his 10^th state title this summer, won his national championship in 1985.

Another West Virginian making his 10^th return to the nationals is Ralph Gragg, a pickup and delivery driver for UPS Freight in Charleston.

This year’s company team also includes Barry Holland from Federalsburg, Md., who was named 2008 Maryland Grand Champion after recording the top score of all competitors in the state driving tournament.

The UPS Freight team also features Jerry Davis of Richmond, Va., who won his ninth state championship this year and first since 1999, and Dennis Kendrick of Richmond. Kendrick captured his eighth Virginia title in 2008 and second in a row in the five-axle competition.

Also returning for the second year in a row to the Nationals is UPS feeder driver John Foran, who this year successfully defended the Vermont four-axle championship he first won in 2007.

Other members of the 2008 team include eight UPS feeder drivers who won their first state titles this year to qualify for the national competition. They include David Edwards from Tennessee; David Sharp from Nevada; Minnesota’s Carl Myers; Troy Turtle and Bill Harvey from Oklahoma; Gareth Denham from Maryland; Ed Mikan from Illinois, and Shane Schneider from Kansas.

Rounding out the 2008 team are UPS Freight drivers Ty Bentley and Chuck Jones from North Carolina; Texas’ Bobby Brown; Scott Cain from Georgia; Anthony Chestnut from Florida; Joe Clements from Virginia, and South Carolinians John Cook, John Hummel, Dennis Martin and Steve Newsome.

Also, Danny Drewery from Tennessee; Alan Graham and Duane Lasure from Ohio; Johnny Hodges and Craig Warner from West Virginia; Vernon Smith and Robert White from Nevada, and Jerry Sheble from California.

Both the state and national competitions include difficult driving skills, maneuvering tests, equipment inspections and exams covering safety policies and regulations. More than 400 drivers from across the nation will compete in Houston in nine equipment classes.

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