a rigged car with a red light to alert drivers when to brake, the magazine tested how long it takes to hit the brake when sober, when legally drunk at .08, when reading and e-mail, and when sending a text message. The results are scary. Driving 70 miles per hour on a deserted air strip Car and Driver editor Eddie Alterman was slower and slower reacting and braking when e-mailing and texting then drinking and driving.
The results where this:
• Unimpaired: .54 seconds to brake
• Legally drunk: add 4 feet
• Reading e-mail: add 36 feet
• Sending a text: add 70 feet
When you are pulled over for drinking and driving if you are over the legal limit you will go to jail and will be charged with a crime. In 2007 230 people died and in 2008 225 total deaths caused in Washington where at least one driver had a BAC of 0.01% or above. This number is expected to continue to drop because of the harsh punishments. If we were to have harsher punishments for texting and driving by making this a misdemeanor for reckless driving, in time we would see a decrease in deaths.
