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Texting While Driving Doubles Reaction Time

MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – If you've driven in South Florida, you've at one time or another been behind a person driving slowly and weaving as they try to send a text message.

While texting and driving has been considered dangerous, a new study showed that reading or writing a text message while driving will more than double a driver's reaction time.

The study, from the Texas Transportation Institute, found that a normal reaction time is one to two seconds. But, if a driver is texting, the reaction time jumps to three to four seconds.

In other words, if a driver is going 60 miles per hour, they are moving 440 feet in five seconds.

With a delay of 3-4 seconds for a texting driver, if a car pulls in front and stops, there's not enough time to react if your eyes are focused on the phone, according to the study's author.

In addition, the study reported that texting would impair the drivers to maintain proper lane position and a constant speed.

The study found no difference in response time between reading a text message and writing one.

So far, 34 states across the country have enacted laws banning texting while driving.

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