Texting While Driving?

OK.. this is not budget related, but I found this information startling.

A new study released by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute indicates texting while driving increases your chances of having an accident by a factor of twenty.

If there were a food which increased the chance of a chronic illness by this factor we would outlaw its consumption (unless, of course, it's cigarettes).

The core concern of the report is that taking your eyes off the road is bad. Go figure.

Drivers take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds when composing text messages. That might not seem like a long time, but cars going 55 miles per hour can travel the length of a football field in 4.6 seconds, and presumably hit many a pedestrian, vehicle, or highway divider in the process.

Drive safely. Text responsibly.