Texting and Driving

Although it is general knowledge that texting while driving is dangerous, did you know that it is even more dangerous and fatal than teenagers driving drunk?  It is one of the reasons that New York has banned all cell phone use while driving, other than hands free.

Shocking Statistics

Here are twenty key statistics released from a recent report by Ridester.com regarding texting and driving:

1.  One out of every four car accidents in the United States is caused by texting and driving.
2. Texting while driving is six times more likely to cause an accident than driving drunk.
3. Twenty-one percent of teen drivers involved in fatal accidents were distracted by their cell phones.
4. In 2015, nearly 3,500 people were killed in distracted driving accidents, and another 391,000 were injured.
5. Texting takes longer than you think – the average time a text takes is 5 seconds, which means if you are driving at 55 miles per hour, you are driving the length of a football field without your eyes on the road.
6. According to a AAA poll, 94% of teenage drivers acknowledge the dangers of texting and driving, yet 35% admitted to doing it anyway.
7. Eleven teens die every day as a result of texting and driving.
8. The National Safety Council (NSC) reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes every year.
9. At any given time during the day, approximately 660,000 drivers attempt to use their phones while behind the wheel of a car.
10. You can be charged with murder for texting and driving.
11. Ninety percent of teens expect a reply to their texts within minutes.
12. Almost 390,000 injuries occur each year from accidents caused by texting and driving.
13. Texting while driving causes a whopping 400% increase in the amount of time spent with eyes off the road.
14. Ninety-four percent of drivers support a ban on texting while driving.
15. In a recent study, 70% of people could not go without their phones for 24 hours.
16. Forty percent of teen drivers admitted in a poll they have participated in texting and driving in the past 30 days.
17. The reaction part of the brain slows down by about 33% when the driver is distracted with a cell phone.
18. One study found that distracted drivers experience a 35% decline in reaction time, whereas drunk drivers only experience a 12% decline, making texting while driving more dangerous than drunk driving.
19. Teen drivers are 4 times more likely than adults to get into car accidents while texting or talking on a cell phone.
20. Cell phone use is highest among 16 to 24 year-old drivers.  

Avoid texting and driving at all costs. Not only is it the law in New York, but it is the smart and safe thing to do.