you don't need doctors to tell you this

THIS IS FROM REUTERS. why they take the time to even write this article, i don't know.

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Texting while driving is bad, US doctors agree
WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Tapping out text messages on
a cell phone while driving is dangerous, the American Medical
Association agreed on Monday, and supported state legislation
to ban it.

The group, which represents about 240,000 U.S. physicians,
voted to lend its weight to laws that would make it easier for
police to pull over drivers who are doing it.

"Texting while driving takes the driver's attention away
from the road, which can lead to accidents," said Dr. Peter
Carmel, an AMA board member.

"A recent study found that text messaging while driving
causes a 400 percent increase in time spent with eyes off the
road. No one should have to worry that other drivers are
focused on texting instead of traffic. This is about keeping
people safe on our roads."

The AMA, meeting in Orlando, Florida, said seven states and
Washington, D.C. have bans on text messaging while driving.

Research has shown that talking on cell phones also
distracts drivers and can cause more accidents -- even with
hands-free devices -- and the AMA supports laws against doing
that, too.

The engineer driving a California train that crashed in
September, killing 12 people and injuring 135 in the worst U.S.
train accident in 15 years, was text-messaging seconds before,
federal investigators said.

(Reporting by Maggie Fox, editing by Will Dunham and
Cynthia Osterman)


REUTERS
Reut 22:20 11-10-08