Texting While Driving? You're Distracted 5 Seconds, Study Shows

Sending or receiving text messages takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, according to a bulletin released by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

At 55 mph, that's the equivalent of driving the length of a football field. 

Distracted driving caused 31,231 crashes and killed 74 people in Ohio between 2009 and 2011, the Patrol said. 

“Every single time someone takes their eyes or their focus off the road - even for just a few seconds - they put their lives and the lives of others in danger,” Col. John Born, Patrol superintendent, said in a news release. “Distracted driving is unsafe, irresponsible and in a split second, its consequences can be devastating."

And just because Ohio doesn't have a law banning texting while driving, that doesn't mean Strongsville police won't pull you over if they see you typing -- or reading -- behind the wheel.

Police Chief Charles Goss says the "full time and attention" law already on the books -- talking on a cell phone, combing their hair, eating, putting on makeup or fiddling with the radio.

Goss has said he doesn't see the need for Ohio -- or individual communities -- to pass laws banning specific behavior while driving.

"It's like you have to wonder, can I text in this city? Can I put on my makeup in this city? Can I shave when I drive here?" he said.

Strongville police officers have started to look for traffic offenses like following too close, driver inattention and making inappropriate lane changes as a way to reduce the number of crashes here.

"We're looking at things that aren't traditionally enforced," Goss said. "Rarely is somebody pulled over and given a ticket for tailgating."

According to the National Highway Safety Administration 5,474 people died nationally in 2009 in distraction-related crashes -– and of those, 18 percent involved cell phone use.

A 2011 teen driving study by Liberty Mutual Insurance and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) showed more than half (53 percent) of the 2,294 high school students surveyed say at least sometimes, and 28 percent admit doing so often or very often.

But 59 percent also said they knew texting was the most distracting thing you can do while driving.