Tag: texting and driving

The Dangers of Texting While Driving

a3c5f2336b83b767b539f935519f8c47The popularity of mobile devices has had some unintended and even dangerous consequences. We now know that mobile communications are linked to a significant increase in distracted driving, resulting in injury and loss of life.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2012 driver distraction was the cause of 18 percent of all fatal crashes – with 3,328 people killed – and crashes resulting in an injury – with 421,000 people wounded.

Forty percent of all American teens say they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger, according to a Pew survey.

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted.

Eleven percent of drivers aged 18 to 20 who were involved in an automobile accident and survived admitted they were sending or receiving texts when they crashed.

Distracted driving endangers life and property and the current levels of injury and loss are unacceptable.

via The Dangers of Texting While Driving | FCC.gov.

Texting and Driving Prevention.

textingFact # 1 – Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling at 55mph, that’s enough time to cover the length of a football field.

Fact # 2 – Reaching for a phone, dialing, texting and other uses of portable devices increased the risk of getting into a crash by three times.

Fact # 3 – 11% of all drivers under 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted.

via Texting and Driving Prevention..

Texting and Driving is Dangerous

Cell-Phone-Law-&-No-Texting-Signs-Stop-Texting-While-Driving-L3037-baA texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-texting driver.

One million people chat and text while driving each day. People feel pressure to remain in constant contact, even when behind the wheel. What drivers do not realize are the dangers posed when they take their eyes off the road and their hands off the wheel, and focus on activities other than driving.

The average text takes a driver’s eyes off the road for nearly five seconds. When traveling at 55mph, that’s enough time to cover the length of a football field. The message being conveyed is that texting while driving isn’t multitasking, it’s essentially driving blind.

via Texting and Driving Prevention.

Texting and Driving is a Deadly Combination

distracted_spanMost American teenagers are told not to text and drive, but the evidence is millions are not listening. In an analysis of a 2011 survey done by the Centers for Disease Control, 46 percent of drivers at age 17 admitted they texted while driving, a number that rose to 52 percent for drivers over 18. Distracted driving – including texting – is now the leading single cause of teenage fatalities.

via Study: Distracted driving deaths underreported – CBS News.

Don’t Text and Drive

5964889_f520Texting and driving is a deadly combination. You are 23 times more likely to be in a crash texting while driving. The distraction caused by mobile phone use while driving impacts a driver’s reactions equivalent to driving under the influence. A recent University study found “using a cell phone while driving – whether it’s handheld or hands-free – delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08. The legal limit for drivers 21 and over in all states.” Another study found that 4 out of every 5 accidents (80%) are attributed to distracted drivers. In contrast, drunk drivers account for roughly 1 out of 3 (33%) of all accidents nationally.

via Don’t Text & Drive – The No Phone Zone.