The information, presented by Dr Natasha Serat, head of the Safety & Technology Group at the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds, showed a 35 percent reaction impairment for people texting, compared to a 12 percent impairment by drivers under the influence of alcohol. She was speaking at a recent Forum on Driving Distraction organised by the Irish Motoring Writers Association.
Cannabis users in the test registered a more than 30 percent impairment, while the greatest culprit is talking on a handheld phone, at around 46 percent.
In a recent survey of seven countries, drivers in Sweden reported the least number admitting to using a mobile while driving, at 30 percent. They were followed by the UK at 34 percent, Canada at 40 percent, and the US, Spain, New Zealand and Australia at 60 percent.
The Forum was held at Dublin's RDS headquarters, and was sponsored by Continental Ireland. It included a presentation by Dr Pim van der Jagt, Head of Ford's Engineering and Advanced Research facility at Aachen, Germany.
(This is one of a series of stories we are running based on the 2013 IMWA/Continental Forum.)
