Your Doctor's Message About Distracted Driving
A study found the risk of crashing while texting is 23 percent greater.

August 07, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- In addition to having your weight and height measured, your blood pressure checked and vital signs recorded, your annual physical usually consists of answering a series of questions from your doctor. Along with the typical queries of whether you smoke, drink, use drugs and wear a seatbelt, comes a new one: do you talk on the phone or text while driving?

Primary care physician Dr. Amy Ship believes that as technology evolves it is a doctor's duty to counsel on the dangers of new risks. And hearing the message directly from your own doctor holds more weight than reading the warning on a side of a box or watching a 20-second public service announcement.

In a recent essay published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Ship wrote, "A question about driving and distraction is as central to the preventive care we provide as the other questions we ask. Not to ask - and not to educate our patients and reduce their risk - is to place in harm's way those we hope to heal."

Distracted Driving is Not Different than Drunk Driving

Individuals who text while driving look away from the road for 4.6 seconds out of every six seconds, according to research done by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. A study by the Virginia Transportation Institute found that the risk of crashing while texting is 23 percent greater than crashing while not texting. In an effort to educate and remind her patients of the inherent risks and implied mortality of distracted driving, Dr. Ship likens it to drinking and driving.

The DOT's Ban on Handheld Cell Phones for Commercial Truck Drivers

Doctors aren't the only ones trying to prevent accidents due to distracted driving. Thirty-nine states have adopted laws regarding cell phone use while driving. And earlier this year, the Department of Transportation announced a ban on texting and handheld cell phones for commercial truck drivers - with civil and criminal penalties up to $2,750. This ban is yet another of the DOT's efforts to increase safety on the roadways by pursing remedies against texting and talking while driving.

Some people don't think that talking on the phone is any more dangerous than talking to a passenger in a car. Dr. Ship carefully points out the challenge of concentrating fully on the task at hand while engaged in a phone conversation: "How would you feel if the surgeon removing your appendix talked on the phone - hands free, of course - while operating?"

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