Which of the following statements best reflects current psychological research on the dangers of driving while intoxicated compared to texting while driving?

• A. Neither intoxication nor texting while driving increases the risk of accidents.
• B. Driving while intoxicated is much less dangerous than texting while driving.
• C. Both intoxication and texting while driving significantly increase accident risk, but texting while driving can be just as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol.
• D. Texting while driving is not considered a significant risk compared to intoxication.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the key variables involved in the problem: driving while intoxicated and texting while driving, both of which are behaviors that impair driving performance.
2. Step 2: Review psychological research findings on how intoxication affects cognitive and motor functions critical for safe driving, such as reaction time, attention, and decision-making.
3. Step 3: Examine research on texting while driving, focusing on how it causes distraction by diverting visual, manual, and cognitive attention away from driving tasks.
4. Step 4: Compare the relative risks by considering studies that measure accident rates or near-misses associated with each behavior, noting that both significantly increase risk.
5. Step 5: Conclude that current psychological research supports the statement that both intoxication and texting while driving significantly increase accident risk, and texting while driving can be just as dangerous as driving under the influence.