Over 120,000 auto accidents occur in the State of Arizona each year. While drinking and driving is extremely dangerous and illegal, most preventable accidents result from speeding, distracted driving, failure to yield and other bad driving habits. This is not to say that drinking and driving is less dangerous. It is more so; the higher percentage of accidents from other causes is due to the fact people spend much more time behind the wheel sober than drunk.

However, recent studies indicate that two bad driving habits may be as dangerous as driving while intoxicated: Texting while driving and driving while excessively tired.

Why Texting and Driving is So Dangerous

To read and send a text, drivers must take their eyes off the road for an average of 5 seconds. At 55 miles per hour, a vehicle moves 100 yards in that time. One hundred yards is plenty of distance to miss a car braking ahead of you, to weave dangerously into another lane or to leave the roadway, potentially striking a tree, sign or other object.

In dense traffic, you may travel less distance in five seconds, but there are many more potential hazards. Pedestrians may enter the roadway; a bicyclist may be just ahead of you or a driver may pull out in front of you. Just a few seconds distraction can cause a crash.

A study by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration found that driving under the influence while below the legal limit is safer than texting and driving. Under-the-influence drivers with a blood alcohol content (BAC) below .08 suffered an average 12% decrease in reaction speed, while driving while texting decreased reaction speed by 23%.

As BAC increases above the legal limit, drunk driving quickly becomes more dangerous than distracted driving or drowsy driving. In fact, in addition to the increase in reaction time, being drunk can itself cause you to be distracted and drowsy at the same time, setting you up for a serious accident.

Arizona’s New Law Against Texting and Driving

On April 22, 2020 Governor Doug Ducey signed into law statewide restrictions against texting and cellphone use while driving. Arizona is the 49th state to enact restrictions on cellphone use while driving, leaving Montana as the only state without cellphone use limitations.

The law officially takes effect on January 1, 2021. However, a “warning” period is in effect until then. During this time, law enforcement may issue drivers a warning but no fine applies.

After January 1st, 2021, first-time offenders face a $75 to $149 citation and repeat offenders are slapped with a $150 to $250 fine.

A distracted driving conviction does not add points to your license. However, if you cause major bodily injury or death while texting and driving, you will be charged points that affect your driving privileges.

In addition, enforcement of the new law will be primary rather than secondary. This means if a traffic officer witnesses you texting and driving, he or she can pull you over and issue a citation without any other cause.

The Use of Handheld Cellphones Is Also Banned

Holding a phone while talking will also fall under the new law. As with texting and driving, a police officer can pull you over if he or she observes you using a handheld mobile device.

Can You Still Use Your Cellphone While Driving?

Yes. Cellphone use for talking is legal on a handsfree device. Also, if you have a Bluetooth system in your car that allows you to talk hands free, that is also permissible.

Drowsy Driving Can Be as Dangerous as Driving Under the Influence

Have you ever felt so tired behind the wheel that you feared falling asleep?

If so, you are not alone. A Center for Disease Control study shows that more than one-third of Americans are sleep deprived. Sleep experts believe tired driving is a serious public safety hazard, and teens are most at risk for falling asleep behind the wheel.

A study conducted on behalf of the Australian parliament discovered that someone who has been awake for 17 hours has the same reaction time, alertness and judgement as a person who has a .05 BAC.

This means that by the time a person who sleeps seven hours per night reaches the end of his or her day, they are significantly impaired and present a higher risk of causing an accident. As a person stays awake longer than 17 hours, the impact on his or her driving ability only increases, resulting eventually in fatigue that is as dangerous as being over the legal limit.

To put the level of impairment 17 hours without sleep induces, consider that to reach a BAC of .05, a 100-pound woman would need one drink per hour, while a 180-pound woman would need two drinks per hour. A 150-pound man would be need two drinks per hour and a 220-pound man three. Clearly, lack of sleep has a strong effect on driving skills.

More people drive tired than drive drunk. While drinking and driving resulted in just 3.3% of traffic accidents in Arizona, a AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study found that 8.8% to 9.5% percent of all crashes involved driver drowsiness. 

In addition, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study shows that 795 people died in the U.S. due to drowsy driving in 2017, with most drowsy driving crashes occurring between midnight and 6 a.m. Drowsy driving crashes also occur more frequently in the late afternoon, when peoples’ circadian rhythm dips.

The study also found that caffeine is no substitute for sleep. “Microsleeps”, or momentary losses of consciousness that last from three to five seconds, still occur despite the stimulant. Three to five seconds is enough time for a collision to occur or the vehicle to leave the roadway.

The NHTSA recommends sleepy drivers pull over in a safe location and take a nap.

Driving drunk is far more dangerous than being tired while driving and distracted driving, but it occurs much less frequently. As a result, the number of crashes attributed to distracted and tired driving is far higher.

Because of the large number of accidents that occur due to texting while driving, the Arizona legislature has passed a law against texting while driving that carries fines between $76 and $250. There are no laws against drowsy driving, though it is a public safety concern.

Forms of distracted driving other than cellphone use remain legal, but a push for further legislation may one day result in you being pulled over for eating a burger while driving.