Sending text messages from your mobile phone while driving is more dangerous than climbing behind the wheel under the influence of drink or drugs, a study by Britain's Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has found.

The reaction times of people texting as they drove fell by 35 percent, while those who had consumed the legal limit of alcohol, or taken cannabis, fell by 21 percent and 12 percent respectively, according to the study.

The study, which was commissioned by motoring group RAC Foundation, also found that the ability to stay in lanes or maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front was worse than drivers under the influence of cannabis.

"This research demonstrates how dangerous it is to drive and text," TRL Senior Human Factors Researcher Nick Reed said in a statement.

He said drivers who texted were distracted by taking their hand off the wheel to use their phone, by trying to read small text on the phone display and by thinking about how to write their message.

"This combination of factors resulted in the impairments to reaction time and vehicle control that place the driver at a greater risk than having consumed alcohol to the legal limit for driving," Reed told reporters.

One conclusion researchers made about why texting is so dangerous is the length of time it takes to compose a message while driving.

The TRL said that composing a text message behind the wheel took 63 seconds, in which time a car travels half a mile within town centre speed limits and over a mile within motorway speed limits.

Nearly half of all 18-24 year-olds admitted to texting as they drove, a separate survey by the RAC Foundation discovered.

The TRL study selected 17 people from the 18-24 year-old age group to take part in a simulated road test, in which they were asked to read, write, and ignore texts on a variety of roads.

"The participants in this study were almost unanimous in their view that drink-driving was the most dangerous action on the road," RAC Director Stephen Glaister said.

He said the research clearly showed that a motorist who is texting is significantly more impaired than a motorist at the legal limit for alcohol.

"No responsible motorist would drink and drive," Glaister said in the statement. "We need to ensure that text devotees understand that texting is one of the most hazardous things that can be done while in charge of a motor car."

   英國交通研究實驗室（TRL）日前開展的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，開車時發(fā)短信比酒后或服藥后開車更危險。

研究顯示，開車時發(fā)短信的人反應能力會下降35%，而少量飲酒后駕車或者服用過大麻的人則分別下降21%和12%。

此外，該項受“英國皇家飛行俱樂部（RAC）基金會駕駛組”委托開展的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，開車時發(fā)短信的人控制車道和保持安全車距的能力比服用了大麻的司機差。

“交通研究實驗室人為因素組”資深研究員尼克•里德在一份聲明中說：“這項研究表明，開車時發(fā)短信有多么危險。”

他說，如果你在開車時發(fā)短信，就必須從方向盤上騰出一只手來去拿手機查看信息，還要想著如何回復，這都會分散你的注意力。

里德在接受采訪時說：“這幾個因素會影響司機的反應速度和對車的控制能力，由此產生的風險比少量飲酒后開車還要大。”

為什么開車時發(fā)短信如此危險呢？研究人員得出的結論是，問題就出在編寫短信的那段時間。

交通實驗室稱，開車時編寫一條短信需要63秒的時間，而車在63秒內可在市區(qū)行駛半英里，在高速公路上則可行駛一英里以上。

“英國皇家飛行俱樂部基金會”開展的另一項調查顯示，在18歲至24歲的受訪者中，近一半的人承認自己在開車時發(fā)過短信。

交通研究試驗室從這一年齡段的受訪者中挑選了17人參加一個模擬駕駛測試，要求他們在不同的路況下查看、編寫或不看短信。

英國皇家飛行俱樂部主管斯蒂芬•格萊斯特說：“受訪者幾乎一致認為酒后駕車最危險。

而研究結果清楚地表明，開車時發(fā)短信的人比酒后駕車的人反應要遲鈍得多。”

格萊斯特在聲明中說：“酒后駕車是不負責任的表現(xiàn)。所以我們要讓愛發(fā)短信的人意識到，發(fā)短信是他們開車時最危險的行為之一。”