Why Texting Does Make You a Worse Driver

You’re a great driver. You have decades of experience, you’ve never been in a serious accident and you took all of the training courses required in Illinois.

At the same time, you’re very proficient when it comes to technology. You spend all day on your phone or computer for work. You have the latest gadgets and the latest apps. You text, use email and browse social media every single day.

So, can you combine these two skills? Would it actually be fairly safe for you to text and drive because you’re distinctly good at both activities?

It would not. This is a common mistake people make. They think that while texting and driving may be dangerous for someone else, it is not all that dangerous for them. They think they can do it successfully. They believe they are being safe. They never think they will crash.

The problem is that multitasking actually decreases your skill level. As one expert put it: “If you do two things at once, both efforts suffer.”

Your brain is forced to take on two tasks, which it cannot do. Instead, it does one task and then the other. It can jump back and forth rapidly, making you feel like you’re doing two things at once, but you are not. When your brain focuses on texting, it cannot simultaneously focus on driving.

This is what makes distractions while driving so dangerous. People who are trying to multitask simply become worse drivers and make more mistakes. Skill levels and past driving records don’t matter. If you get injured in an accident with a distracted driver, take steps to protect your rights and know what legal options you have.