The Straight Up Facts about Texting and Driving
Study after study has shown that texting and driving is undoubtedly one of the worst and most dangerous distracted driving activities. Even though we know it’s wrong, drivers continue to text and drive and this is why it has become a societal issue that is putting the safety of drivers, passengers and pedestrians in jeopardy.
A Common Misconceptions About Texting and Driving
Perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions out there about texting and driving is that it’s isolated to teen drivers. Even though texting and driving is the number one distraction reported by teen drivers, the reality is that drivers of all ages are the issue. Seniors, parents, professionals, and teen drivers are all guilty of texting and driving. As a society, we need to collectively come together and put a stop to texting and driving. We need to make it socially unacceptable.
The Facts About Texting And Driving
Nearly 1 in 4 Accidents are caused by drivers that are texting and driving
The use of cell phones is one of the most common forms of distracted driving. Texting and driving is one of the major sources of driving distractions that pose a serious threat to road safety. The following is a collection of statistics about the dangers of texting and driving*:
- 3 out of 4 young drivers are confident they can safely text and drive
- You are approximately 6 times more likely to cause an accident while texting and driving than driving while intoxicated
- Half of teens have seen their parent texting and driving
- Half of teens have been in a vehicle where the driver was texting and driving
- Texting and driving makes you 23 times more likely to get into an accident
- Texting and driving is the equivalent of driving blind for 5 seconds
- More than one-third of teens have admitted to texting while driving
- At any given time more than 800, 000 drivers are texting and driving in North America
- Driver that text while driving experience about a 20% decrease in brake reaction time
- Texting and driving is the cause of about 1.6 million accidents and 330, 000 injuries per year
Learn more: Distracted Driving Facts
How To Handle Eliminating Texting and Driving
The facts about texting and driving are alarming and point to the need to put measure in place to eliminate it. Here are some potential ways to reduce the number of insurance of texting and driving:
- Increasing the fines and legal repercussions
- Increasing the number of awareness campaigns
- New technologies to block phone use while vehicles are in motion
- Changes to the way we teach new drivers how to drive.
*Sources:
National Hwy Transportation Safety Admin
National Safety Council
VA. Tech Transportation Institute
Ins. Institute for Hwy Safety Fatality Facts
Harvard Center for Risk Analysis Study
Texting and Driving Safety.com
Onlineschools.com