Distracted driving has become a worldwide epidemic claiming thousands of lives a year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that distracted driving is responsible for 3,477 people killed and 391,000 injured in motor vehicle crashes in the 2015 year.
To break that down even more, each and every day in the United States alone, approximately 9 people are killed and more than 1,000 injured in accidents involving distracted driving. These statistics are scary and sobering facts. It is important that we all understand what happens when we do something else while we are behind the wheel of a vehicle.
In an effort to better understand distracted driving and the effects it has on drivers, researchers from the University of Houston and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute conducted a study. The data was made available to the public for the first time in a paper published August 15th in the Scientific Data journal.
LTI devices capture images of distracted driving.
The study was conducted using a driving simulator and consisted of 68 volunteers. According to the Phys Org article, “Texting, the researchers found, led to far more dangerous driving, while a “sixth sense” appeared to protect those suffering emotional upset or absent-mindedness. Texting interfered with that sixth sense, letting drivers drift out of their traffic lanes. The researchers reported this result in the journal Scientific Reports last year, using a subset of the data they collected.”
Law enforcement needs all the help they can get to combat this ever-growing problem. Laser Technology, Inc. (LTI) has the tools to help do just that. Our TruVISION™, a hand-held photo video laser, not only can measure speed but captures images of violations. From getting an image of the license plate, to a driver texting or talking on the phone, the TruCAM gathers a complete chain of evidence.
Consume the full study here: Signs of Distracted Driving Article at Phys.org.
Contact us today for more information about traffic safety products like our TruVision laser speed gun, or to schedule a practical demonstration.
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