Utah Tackles Texting And Driving Problem Head-On

Utah is aggressively tackling distracted driving. Seventeen other states have laws on texting and driving, some with penalties as light as a $20 fine. But calls for strong action in other states are getting louder. A national poll this year showed a quarter of all drivers with cell phones admit to texting. University of Utah psychologist David Strayer tracks eye movements while people text and try to drive. He says people really do take their eyes off the road — often for the same amount of time it takes to drive the length of a football field. Imagine doing that blind. And the cognitive distraction is part of what makes it so dangerous. "In terms of accident risk, you're more likely to be hit by someone who's text messaging than someone who's drunk," Strayer says. "And that's a pretty alarming statistic." In fact, his research shows that texting results in impairment levels double that of drunken driving.