One trap that experienced drivers may fall into when it comes to texting while driving is thinking that their high level of experience when it comes to driving makes it so they can handle texting while driving better than other drivers and thus that avoiding texting while driving really isn’t that important for them.
One reason this is a bad thought process for an experienced driver to go down is that it could make them more likely to engage in the dangerously distracting conduct of texting while driving. Another is that the central assumption of this thought process, that texting while driving is less impairing to an experienced driver than a newer driver, may actually not even be true. In fact, a recent study indicates that the opposite may be true.
In the study, researchers had some individuals between the ages of 18 and 59 engage in texting while driving while they were in a driving simulator. The researchers then looked at whether the individuals started unintentionally crossing into other lanes when they were texting while driving. Here are the percentages of highly-skilled texters that did start veering when texting while driving:
- 25 percent for the 18-24 age group.
- 40 percent for the 25-34 age group.
- 80 percent for the 35-44 age group.
- 100 percent for the 45-59 age group.
Given these results, it appears that texting while driving may have a stronger negative effect on older, more experienced drivers than it does on younger, less-experienced drivers. It is not yet known what specifically is behind this phenomenon.
Whatever one’s level of driving experience, one should simply stay away from texting when driving. No text is worth endangering your safety or the safety of others.
If a person believes that an injury-causing car accident that they were in was caused by a texting driver or some other type of distracted driver, they may want to have an attorney investigate the matter for them to help them get an idea of whether any legal claims are available to them.