Texting-While-Driving Bans Could Reduce Crash-Related Hospitalizations

Bans on texting while driving can reduce crash-related hospitalizations of both drivers and passengers, according to new research published by a faculty member at the Texas A&M University Health Science Center School of Public Health.

Alva O. Ferdinand, Dr.P.H., J.D., led a team of researchers that examined crash-related hospitalizations before and after the enactment of state texting bans. Nineteen states were included in the study, which was based on hospital discharge data captured between 2003 and 2010. Some states had passed bans on texting while driving while other states, including Texas, had no such bans.

The study found that on average, there was a 7 percent reduction in crash-related hospitalizations in states that have enacted texting-while-driving bans. Hospitalizations were reduced the most – 9 percent – among 22-64 year olds and those aged 65 and older.

“Our research indicates that adults in states with a primary texting ban stand to benefit the most in terms of potentially avoiding crash-related hospitalizations,” Ferdinand said. “Given that the texting driver may cause a crash, but may not be the one most seriously injured, restricting texting bans to young drivers only is perhaps not the best approach to preventing crash-related hospitalizations.”

Continue reading on Vital Record.