Texting and driving is a deadly combination. Not only is it dangerous, it is illegal in 11 states for all drivers. In fact, some states will use the distraction as an primary measure performance, which means an officer can cite just a driver to use a cell phone hand held, without any infringement of the circulation takes place.
Young and inexperienced drivers are the highest risk group. Some startling statistics include:
- In 2011, 3,331 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver
- 40% of US teens say they were in a car when the driver. used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger.
- 11% of all drivers under age 20 involved in fatal accidents were reported as distracted at the time of the accident.
- text messaging creates a risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted from the accident.
- sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent at 55 mph driving the length of an entire blind on the football field.
- 16% of all crashes involve distracted driving drivers under 20 years
and as these numbers continue to rise, more and more companies offer programs that help educate novice drivers about the dangers of texting and driving. Programs such as Distractology and In-Control have been developed in the hope of reversing this alarming trend. There are also resources for parents and parents are Key Web page on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Some carriers also offer applications or devices that can be plugged into a vehicle to prohibit the use of cell phones while in the vehicle. There are smartphones and iPhone applications available for download that prohibit the use of text messaging capabilities or only allow calls to be picked up by a hands-free device such as Bluetooth. Some of these applications allow three contacts "VIP", which allow you to receive SMS or calls to three phone numbers. These can be programmed for mom and dad, 9-1-1, etc. Any incoming text will receive an automatic response text that says you are driving and you send the text once you reach your destination.
Have you ever been in a car when distracted driving caused an accident or you endanger another way? If so please tell us about it in the comments section below.
For more statistics like those listed above, visit http://www.distraction.gov.
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