Texting Truckers Raise Risk of Crash

Texting behind the wheel of a car is dangerous—texting behind the wheel of a truck, even more. A new study shows that when drivers text behind the wheel of a truck, they are 23 times more likely to crash than before. And of those who crashed, drivers usually spent five seconds looking at their phones—which, on a highway, amounted to a distance of an entire football field. A previous study conducted at the University of Utah showed texters in cars were only eight times as likely to crash their vehicles. And while truck drivers are not more or less typical than other drivers, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute's $6 million study showed an increased pattern of risk. “You should never do this,” said Tom Dingus, director of institute, “it should be illegal.”