Texting while driving is extremely dangerous. Texting while driving a big truck - 18 Wheeler -is even more dangerous than doing so in a car. An in-depth study by a department at Virginia Tech University details the problem.

"Truckers that text while driving are 23 times more likely to crash or get into a near-wreck than an undistracted driver, while car drivers face the greatest danger when dialing their cell phones, a transpotration study found."

This study was undertaken and reported by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. Maybe this wasn't obvious to everyone but it certainly is an obvious outcome to me. As a former over the road truck driver, I know first hand how difficult it is to drive an 18-wheeler, tractor-trailer, big rig, whatever you want to call it. The fact is the truck driver must be more attentive, more alert, more awake and totally, 100% focused on driving that truck in a safe and reasonable manner.

Because big trucks are inherently more difficult to drive, the results of the study really should not be all that surprising. For instance, truckers have a disproportionately higher likelihood of a crash due to cell phone use when compated to car drivers. The chance of an accident for a truck driver while dialing is 5.9 times more likely versus 2.8 times more likely for a person dialing while driving a car.

The researchers in the study were part of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute's Center for Truck and Bus Safety. The researchers actually used video cameras inside of vehicles to document the amount of time a truck driver's eyes were off of the road while doing things on his cell phone. One of the researchers, Rich Hanowski stated, "Text messaging, as you can imagine, if you're engaged in a text message it draws your eyes away from the forward roadway." He goes on to say, "From the study we did, we found that it was almost five seconds out of a six second window that we were looking at that driver's eyes were off the forward roadway, to that's a tremendous amount of time driving at highway speeds and a lot of opportunity in that period of time to get in trouble."

Statistics show that a driver that takes his eyes off the road for even 4.6 seconds equates to that driver traveling the length of a football field at 55 mph without looking at the roadway." This is incredibly dangerous! When was the last time you witnessed an 18-wheeler cruising down the road at only 55 mph?

Despite these dangers, truckers are still engaging in this extremely dangerous activity and the trucking companies that employ these dangerous drivers are not doing anything to stop this dangerous activity. If you or someone you know has been injured in a trucking accident in Pearland or on Highway 288 call the Board Certified Pearland Truck Accident Attorneys of Denena & Points, P.C. today at 877-307-9500. Remember, whether the attorney you are speaking with is Board Certified is an important question to ask. Follow this link to learn more about the reasons to select only an Attorney that is Board Certified. We can provide you with additional information on this study as well as the ins and outs at how to come about a fair resolution to your case.

Call us at 877-307-9500 to speak with a Board Certified Pearland personal injury attorney about YOUR case today.