Watch: Lexus Shows How Dangerous Texting While Driving Can Be

A lot of people still don’t realize the dangers of texting while driving. It’s not a trivial or momentary distraction: the average length of time it actually takes to send or receive a text message when you’re behind the wheel is 4.6 seconds, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the U.S.

At a speed of 90 km/h, it’s like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.

• Also: Canadians more worried than ever about texting and driving
• Also: One third of Canadian drivers text at red lights, according to the CAA

As part of Distracted Driving Awareness Month, Lexus recently set up an experiment to show exactly what happens when drivers can no longer see the road for 4.6 seconds. 

Participants got behind the wheel of a "new" NX crossover for what they thought would be a routine test drive, but they didn’t anticipate the windshield and windows to go from transparent to opaque instantaneously, completely obscuring their vision.

We’ll let you watch the chaos that ensued:

Fortunately, no one was injured since the whole experiment was controlled and conducted on a closed course. We imagine the participants drew a precious lesson from their big scare. And maybe you should, too.

“Lexus wants to bring awareness to safety behind the wheel by changing perceptions about texting and driving,” said Vinay Shahani, vice president of Lexus marketing. “Even the most advanced safety systems on the road today can’t replace the undivided attention of the driver.”