A study by the Texas Transportation Institute at A&M University found that it took drivers twice as long to react when they were reading or sending a text while driving. They also had trouble staying their lane and maintaining a constant speed.
This study was the first of its kind because its test subjects were driving on an actual road. But, it was a closed course, so there were no other vehicles on the road. Last year, in Texas alone, cell phone use contributed to 1,045 accidents, 30 of them deadly.
