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Distracted Driving is Number One Cause of Accidents, but Texting isn't Entirely to Blame

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A new study confirms that the number one cause of traffic accidents is distracted drivers.  But it’s not only texting behind the wheel that’s to blame.

We’ve all heard the warnings about as texting or talking on the phone while driving.  But a new study cites another important factor in car crashes, the driver’s emotional state.  

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found emotionally agitated drivers had ten times the risk of a collision says Mindy Buchanan-King, Director of Research communications at VTTI.

In terms of percentages the driver is one-thousand percent more likely to get into a crash if they were visibly emotionally upset.”

The 2-year study used unobtrusive video cameras and sensors in 35-hundred cars in 6 states. It also found that some things we thought were distracting do not cause more accidents.  For example interacting with a child in the rear seat of a vehicle was found to have a protective effect by making drivers more conscientious. 

The study appears in the Publication of the national Academy of Sciences.

Robbie Harris is based in Blacksburg, covering the New River Valley and southwestern Virginia.
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