One of the riskiest things a driver may do while operating a vehicle is text while driving. This causes three types of distractions- visual, manual, and cognitive. That is because using your phone while driving can have dangerous consequences since it requires you to take your eyes off the road, take at least one hand off the wheel to type, and divert your attention from the road. Now, a new study has found that people who commonly text and drive are linked to psychopathic behaviour, as per a report in the New York Post.

According to the new statistics, which came from interviews with around 1,000 drivers in Germany-about 73 per cent of whom were women-more than 600 participants, or roughly 61 per cent, acknowledged the “problematic” usage of their gadgets while driving. Problematic smartphone users were linked to antisocial behaviour, fear of missing out, and three unfavourable qualities known as the “dark triad”. These include psychopathy, machismo, and narcissism. In combination with other studies, the same attributes have also been linked to drivers of deliberately noisy cars.

“Problematic smartphone use is an excellent predictor regardless of the Dark Triad personality traits. Since this factor can be changed more easily than personality, PSU should be targeted in public safety interventions, driving training and court-mandated medical-psychological assessment of driver fitness” the authors of the study noted.

The researchers also shared some other ways to curb the use of cell phones. “It might be a good strategy to help people reduce their PSU in everyday life, which should indirectly decrease the chances of using their phones on the road and prevent accidents and fatal crashes,” they said.

The research has been published in Plos One and is titled “Surfing in the Streets: How problematic smartphone use, fear of missing out, and antisocial personality traits are linked to driving behaviour.”