Passage Text Messaging While Driving Increases the Risk of a Motor

Passage
Text messaging while driving increases the risk of a motor vehicle accident more than twenty-fold.  The number of deadly highway accidents has spiked after decades of decline, mainly because of texting while driving.  Despite this, nearly 40% of American drivers report having texted while driving and 20% of drivers report doing so regularly.  Motor vehicle traffic accidents are the leading cause of death among Americans age 16 to 25.Researchers conducted a study to investigate the extent to which driving is impaired by prolonged gazes away from the highway (as a correlate to texting while driving) for males with and without attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) .  Eighty 16-year-old males with a valid driver's license were recruited for the study; half had ADHD (26 diagnosed as mild, 14 diagnosed as moderate) and half did not.  Each participant was asked to complete six driving tasks (eg, avoiding an object on the road, merging, making unexpected stops) using a highly realistic driving simulator that projects computer-generated, two-dimensional, 360º visuals, requiring the use of side and rearview mirrors.  The baseline condition included no distraction.  In the first distraction condition, participants drove while conducting a hands-free phone conversation, and in the second distraction condition they were texting while driving.  Two dependent variables were assessed:  (1) percentage of driving time with eyes diverted from the road, and (2) number of glances away from the road lasting longer than two seconds.Under both distraction conditions, participants with ADHD (compared to those without ADHD) demonstrated a significantly higher percentage of driving time with eyes diverted from the road, as well as a significantly higher number of prolonged glances away from the road.  In addition, unsteady lane position while driving was correlated with both ADHD and texting.  The researchers concluded that impairments in driving performance were due to the extreme cognitive workload of competing tasks and visual inattention.
-Which of the following conclusions about ADHD is most supported by this study?

A) Extreme cognitive workload increases impulsivity for those with ADHD.
B) Distraction increases visual inattention for those with ADHD.
C) Texting while driving has a similar effect on driving as does having ADHD.
D) Teenagers with ADHD are worse drivers than those without ADHD.

Correct Answer:

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