The Impact of Age and Gender on Reaction Time While Texting and Driving

Although distracted drivers are claiming more and more lives each year, drivers continue to perform dangerous behaviors behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. Of all driving distractions, texting and driving has proven to be one of the most dangerous. This research investigated the effect of text messaging on driver reaction, and whether the effect varied as a function of gender. Thirty-five Wichita State University students ranging in age from 18-29 participated in 5 different experimental conditions, a driving only condition, manually texting while driving, manually texting only, verbally texting while driving, and a verbally texting only condition. Reaction time was measured by the participant braking when the car in front of them braked. The participants were also asked to rate the perceived risk of texting and driving on a five-point scale. The results indicated that reaction times in the driving only task were significantly faster, compared to the task of driving and manually texting. There was evidence of a trend suggesting that women perceived the risk of texting to be greater than men, especially after completing the driving and texting task. 1