Andrew Wirtanen is a usability specialist in Cary, NC More »

Texting While Driving

Update (7/6/08): Gizmodo has pretty much summed up my thoughts on this subject in this entry.

I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but a bill banning texting while driving is moving on to the state Senate in my home state of Massachusetts. From the Mooninite controversy to the Big Dig, Massachusetts doesn’t have a very good reputation.

Bills seem to created and escalated because of a tragic accident. In this case, a 13-year-old boy was killed by a text messaging driver. If this is what it takes for people to realize that it isn’t safe to text while driving, then so be it. But, would it have been any different if the driver was eating a hamburger instead? I am pretty sure many accidents have been caused by Chicken McNuggets or the daily Dunkin Donuts coffee. It seems silly that we need a law for this, especially since technology is rapidly changing. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a ban on video chatting while driving in the next 5-10 years.

As a usability professional, it makes me wonder how many of these accidents could have been avoided with good design. What were drivers doing seconds before the accident? Were they looking for the clear button? Is their phone flat and they have to look down each time to find the correct button to press?

Texting while driving is obviously very dangerous, but it’s going to happen whether we have a bill banning it or not. It’s up to drivers to use common sense and realize that their attentional resources are already limited by their car stereo, passengers, and scenery. And that reminds me of this video:

Moonwalking bears are always a distraction… So is texting while driving, and I’ve done it. It is being dumb, and unsafe but so is driving tired, drunk, and people still do that.

These laws are staring to hit all of the States. Maryland and I think Virgina have them in the works. I am not sure if they have passed yet or not.

Sadly, common sense isn’t common.
We have laws that stop us driving through built up areas at 120mph… We have traffic lights that make us stop…
Stopping people texting whilst driving is as fundamental as the other measures to protect us from ourselves.
Very sadly it took the killing of a 13 year old to bring attention to the problem.

[...] I initially thought that banning texting while driving was ridiculous (i.e., why not ban eating while driving too?), I am seeing it more frequently. Also, it is more [...]