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We see people doing it all the time.  Texting or talking on the phone while driving in their car.  The reality is, this is a very dangerous combination.

The New York Times is running a story showing how cell phone use - either talking or texting - is obviously dangerous.  They also talk about the fact that many lawmakers are reluctant to ban phone use and that one of the reasons is that the lawmakers as well as their constituents find chatting in the car both productive and convenient.  Not so productive when you’re wrapped around a pole though.

However, most people feel that regardless of an individual’s stance of talking on a phone while driving, texting is another matter entirely.  It is simply way too distracting and should be against the law.

Part of what the Times did to demonstrate their point of just how difficult it is to text and drive, is to create a game having you do just that.  When you play the game, you have to quickly navigate in between six toll booths by using your number keys, while at the same time occasionally responding to text messages.  The whole game is obviously played using your computer and mouse; they aren’t having you go out there and actually do it and check in with your results.

I tried it.  I was doing just fine with the navigating between toll booths part, until my first message appeared.  Let’s just say my car insurance company would have been getting a phone call.  I didn’t make it past the first message.

Granted, this isn’t an exact simulation of what it is like while driving and texting, but it does give you an idea of the multi-tasking involved, especially in a quick moving scenario.  How often do we hear horror stories of accidents happening when the driver just looked away from the road for a second? 

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Try it out and let us know how you did. 

Read: [NYTimes]