New highway signs urge drivers to wait until the next rest stop before answering that text or email message. A recent study presents two more reasons why motorists who text are a major danger.
“Earlier this week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that 91 'texting zones' have been established along major state highways,” writes Eric Jaffe. “Nearly 300 signs will guide drivers to these areas with messages like ‘It Can Wait: Text Stop 5 Miles.’”
“There's little to dislike with the initiative. Distracted driving is an enormous public safety hazard that will only become more enormous as the texting generation gets behind the wheel. The campaign was also relatively low cost,” he continues, “since the texting zones are simply re-branded rest stops.”
Whether or not the re-brand will sway multi-tasking motorist to put down their mobile devices remains to be seen. The results of a recent study conducted by psychologists at the University of Utah, however, came to some concerning conclusions regarding multi-tasking drivers. First, those who were poor multi-taskers actually had high confidence in their multi-tasking abilities. Second, those who admitted to texting while driving proved to be among the poorest performers in test of multi-tasking capability.
FULL STORY: The People Who Need 'Texting Zones' on Highways Most Are Also Least Likely to Use Them
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research