If only people wouldn't read while driving as well. I realize I-71 though Ohio isn't the most challenging of roads, but I remember seeing several people with a book propped up on the steering wheel..

@hahamaximus:

If only people wouldn't insert any verb here while driving as well.

This test is ridiculous. How many of us are constantly switch across 6 lanes of barriers? most of us can text without looking at the keyboard. personally, I do it at red lights, but that's it.

Newsflash: Not watching the road increases likelihood of car accidents!!!

This game is so fun, and I did much better than the average. I think I'm more likely to text while driving now actually.

Shaving, putting on makeup, reading the newspaper, drinking coffee, working on a laptop...these are all things I've seen on the roads in the DC area within the last few months. It's not just cell phones. Too many people are trying to multitask while driving.

I keep missing gates because I'm distracted looking for the grey lady.

Just this morning I was driving through a parking lot and a woman pulled out right in front of me. I had to hit the brakes. Guess what she was doing. Talking on the cell phone.

I don't thinking it's a surprise to anyone that READING is more dangerous than talking while driving, given that one involves your eyes.

@dbrewer80221:

If I had only 2 seconds to switch lanes, and had to do that every 2 - 3 seconds, I'd have an accident within the first 5 seconds. No matter what I was doing.

If that's how they figured out how "dangerous" it is, then their method is exceptionally flawed.

No shit.

Now, THERE'S some good commenting!

at least it's becoming a law soon where i live. it's not likely to stop most people though [oops, that might be me sometimes]

And in other completely obvious news... People with cancer have a higher chance of dying than people without! And later, why you should have boxes on hand when planning a big move!!

@shepd: They figured it out from accident rates, actually.

@catastrophegirl - sometimes makes typos and doesn't care: Yeah, its against the law to text and drive as well as use a cell phone without a hands free device, think anyone in LA cares?
I've pulled up to stoplights and seen 3 or 4 cars with people on their phones in some way.

And in other news, jumping the turnstile in the subway is illegal.

@Chris J. Stone: Please, don't do it.

I was really worried that it would be 24 times more dangerous. Whew!

@wcnghj: I was joking around. If I ever text while driving, it's mostly at a red light, but most of the time, though I'll peek at it, I won't respond until I've stopped driving. Seriously, though, that game was fun and exciting, even if it was supposed to teach you a message.

*|FEIGNED_SURPRISE|*

I have texting disabled on my phone. I am the anti-text. I hate text messages. If you desire to tell me something call me. It is that simple.

People that do text while driving are idiots. They pay no attention to anything around them. They will sit in the passing lane/left hand lane and have no clue they are holding up traffic because they must respond to the text they just received.

I at times wish my car had a Zat gun. It is a Stargate thing. Zap them 3 times and they go away forever. That would be so nice to have.

Sooner than later texting while driving is going to land someone in prision because they had to respond to a stupid question from a friend.

Your BFF can wait. Your friends can wait. You texting idiots will kill people because you must respond but you idiots never think about that. You are to caught up in your own little world.

Sadly that little world will come crashing down on you one day and while you sit in your little cell wondering why you are are locked away you might get a clue but I doubt it.

Does this take into account texting experience? If you memorized your phone's menu system and are using T9 input, you can pretty easily text one handed without ever looking at the phone. Although you'll probably end up with a couple of weird word substitutions.

@eelmonger: I have tie yore substitution.

If I change lanes like that in the NY Times test, I will most likely get a ticket for rackless driving before anything else. How many of you change lanes on freeways consistantly every 2/3 seconds, sometimes crossing 3 or 4 lanes each time? You are gauranteed to get a ticket from the CHP in CA if you drive like that on the freeway.

They don't let me even read my text but you know what? I now get to keep reading those freeway ads. Or how about curling eyelashes on the rear view mirror. There are many things people do in their cars that are equally or more distractive than reading text but they are all ok. Now typing one is a totally different subject but I know some can blind type.

@dbrewer80221:

I don't think the test is supposed to be an accurate simulation of driving conditions. Its simply a way to test how well you multitask. Can you focus on changing gates at the same time as trying to input something on the dummy cellphone, and try to keep up while looking back and forth.

@flidget: I played the damn game three times (which was enough to figure out how to cheat) and never saw the Gray Lady. I think they're making it up.

@Michael Belisle: Oh there she is. Fourth time's the charm, I guess.

Regardless, they could have put her in the middle of the road, showered the screen in you hit her, and people still wouldn't have noticed.

@Michael Belisle: The above should read "...showered the screen in blood when you hit...."

@NotYou007: You, sir or madam, have been hearted.

@NotYou007:

I agree with you about texting and driving, but not about texting. I hate getting phone calls from people so they can ask me quick questions. It's a pain when they could just send me a text. I also hate getting voice mails. Then I have to wade through them and listen to you ummm your way through what you wanted. Just send me a text.

For me, phones are for an actual conversation. I don't have conversations on text unless I can't talk. But I also don't want to answer the phone twenty times in one day to tell people that yes, we're still on for tonight or sure, you can borrow my sweater, or we're having spaghetti for dinner.

I know it's old, but the conclusions about hands-free talking concern me. Pretty much my entire extended family does that, and they are unlikely to be deterred because they are all excellent drivers. =/

Luckily most are from painfully small towns where seeing other people on the road is often exciting, but still. Concerning.

@supercereal:

If only people wouldn't *|VERB|* while driving as well.

There. Fixed it for you. Get with the times bro.

@H3ion: If people want to multi-task take public transit.

We have had people almost drive into our car twice in the past few months because they were texting. The only reason they didn't was because we got out of the way as they wandered into the other lane.
I had someone almost walk right into me at Target because they were texting and walking. I stepped out of their way about a foot before they would have walked right into me.
If you get a text when your driving wait until your stopped or get where your going. If you get a text in the store find somewhere to step out of the way to deal with it.
Texting while driving (moving car, typing on the keyboard) should be a felony if you cause an accident.

@NotYou007: We have made sort of a game out of bad drivers. You see someone doing something stupid or dangerous, then everyone waits to see if they are on a cell phone or not. 99.9% of the time they have a phone slapped to the side of their head.

What really bothers me is most of these people look like they are probably not running their own big business, are doctors or other people who frequently are on call or having to deal with 101 phone calls a day. Then again most people with that kind of work load are smart enough to have someone screening their calls and dealing with the small stuff.

OMG ur gettin a manicure and your highlights done IS NOT important enough to possibly kill someone.

@aguacarbonica: When I was a kid......(time to tune out now). Seriously though, I grew up in a time where pay phones were the only way to call someone if you were away from home. Unless something was really important, you just didn't talk to your friends or family until you got home. You borrowed that sweater without permission and who cares if everyone wants spaghetti or not - that's what you're getting 'cause that's what's getting cooked! Sure, cell phones are great and in some ways make life easier - but part of me really misses the simplicity of life before them.

@eelmonger: The problem isn't just the looking at the phone, it's the distraction. Remember that even plain cell phone conversations make you a four times riskier driver, the equivalent of breaching the legal limit of alcohol. And, as with people who have been drinking, people tend to believe that they're the exception and they're not more dangerous, which I suspect just increases the risk.

@aguacarbonica: Yeah, people don't get that the problem is cognitive, not mechanical. I suppose you could compare it to being drunk, where even if you're not distracted by actually lifting the bottle to your lips, you're still an impaired driver.

@bohemian: I answered an email while riding the elevator and then while standing in line for coffee. I knew what I wanted ahead of time and looked up once in a while to see where I was in line. I keep my phone slightly elevated in front of me so I can catch the flow of walking traffic as I'm walking through my building.

@chris_d: The side of my car got rammed into this way, only she wasn't on her phone. She just wasn't paying attention and slammed into the side of my car as I was driving through a parking lot.

Shock and alarm!

@MostlyHarmless: If only people wouldn't *|VERB|* while driving as well.

This, plus the Shake Weight video from yesterday, is giving me bad, bad ideas.

Cripes, stupid texting and driving people! Get off the damn phone! Do you really need to talk on the phone every second of every day?

Just drive, get there and then answer / make your call, or read your book or eat your food or whatever. All this "I must get my calls because I might not know if Muffy's going to wear her red sweater to the party" bull crap is PATHETIC.

@Bramble73: All you have to do is get to the right lane first and then type out the words. Also, it's prudent to choose the shortest word to type.

How about voice recognition texting? I know its stupid but so is taking 3 minutes to text something that would take 10 seconds actually speaking.

@HogwartsAlum: Agreed!
And Muffy's going with blue tonight.

@pecan 3.14159265: I'm the same way - I read and text while walking all the time. It's a non-issue, though, because I just make sure my field of vision covers five feet or so in front of me and look up at unexpected obstacles or traffic. I have yet to hit anything.

That said, I would never do either while driving, because I wouldn't trust my reaction times. The half-second it takes to look up would have killed me a few times.

@pecan 3.14159265: I attempted that. I got sad when it asked if I wanted a plain pizza or mushroom. I love mushroom, but I typed 'plain' - and then realized that if it were real life, I would be stuck with a sub-par pizza. (Actually, IRL I wouldn't be texting and driving, but whatever).

@haoshufu: It seems like it mimics the change in speed patterns you might get on a busy freeway - or random obstacles you tend to see on suburban roads/small highways. Bus suddenly pulling out from a stop, lane closed due to contruction, exiting off a road, merging, avoiding cyclists. It reflects my driving environment to some extent.

@floraposte: Reminds me of some PSAs from a few years ago:

I think they're from Australia. There's also a second one with children as a distraction.

A friend of mine and his wife were nearly killed in a head-one collision with someone who weaved into their lane while he was changing the radio. Luckily my friend noticed in time & reduced his speed as much as possible and moved a bit out of the way. They still ended up with broken hips and legs, though.