We all know that many motor vehicle accidents in Pennsylvania are caused by drivers who are distracted while texting. A new study, though, shows that texting or sending email while driving is even more dangerous than experts previously thought.

The Reuters news service recently covered a study by Texas A&M University's Texas Transportation Institute that found that texting doubles a driver's reaction time. This means that drivers who are texting are less likely to respond quickly to sudden roadway dangers that could cause car accidents.

According to the Reuters story, 42 drivers participating in the university's study — all between the ages of 16 and 54 — drove on an 11-mile test course while sending and receiving text messages. They also drove on the test course while focusing only on driving.

Researchers asked drivers to stop when they saw a flashing yellow light. These researchers then recorded drivers' reaction times.

Drivers who were not texting or sending email messages tended to react to the flashing light in one or two seconds, the story said. Drivers who were texting, though, took three to four seconds to react. Drivers who were texting were also 11 times more likely to not even notice the flashing light.

Three or four seconds might not seem much different than one or two seconds. But for motorists, those extra one or two seconds can mean the difference between avoiding a stalled truck or slamming into its back. In other words, it can mean the difference between life and death.

The message from the Texas A&M study, then, is an obvious one: Leave your texting for when you're not driving. If you don't, you're not only putting yourself at risk, but other drivers on the road.

Source: Reuters, "Texting while driving more dangerous than thought: study," Jim Forsyth, Oct. 5, 2011