The dangers of distracted driving and reports of the auto accidents that result are often directly linked to texting and driving. Typing or texting on a cell phone while behind the wheel is among the leading causes of driver distraction which contribute to serious and fatal car crashes. Automobile accidents caused by texting are the leading cause of traffic fatalities among teenagers. Recent data also shows that teenage girls are more likely to text while driving than boys.
According to the CDC, there are three categories of driver distraction:
- Manual: Taking hands off the steering wheel
- Visual: Taking eyes off of the road
- Cognitive: Shifting the mind off of driving (daydreaming)
Texting while driving can potentially involve all three types of distraction at once. A driver must take his/her eyes away from the road to read a message, cognitive processes are used to contemplate the text message, and the driver may also be manually distracted by clicking a key to read the message or in typing a reply to the text message.
14 Texting and Driving Statistics
A distracted driver whose focus is away from the road for a split second can crash into another vehicle, a motorcycle, a cyclist, or even a pedestrian. Auto accidents caused by texting and driving can result in permanent injuries, disabilities, or death.
- Any driver is at least two times more likely to crash if they read or compose a text message while driving.
- According to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, texting while driving is six times more likely to cause an automobile accident than driving when intoxicated.
- Reading a text message takes a driver’s eyes and focus away from the road for roughly five seconds. At a speed of 55mph, a car covers a distance equal to the length of a football field in the same amount of time.
- Of all cell phone related tasks – including talking, dialing, or reaching for the phone – texting while driving is the most dangerous.
- Engaging in visual-manual subtasks (such as reaching for a phone, dialing and texting) associated with the use of hand-held phones and other portable devices increased the risk of being involved in a car accident by at least three times.
- 49 percent of drivers with cell phones under the age of 35 send or read text messages while driving.
- 20 percent of teens and 10 percent of parents admit to holding ongoing, multi-message text conversations while driving.
- The United States Department of Transportation notes that cell phones are involved in 1.6 million auto crashes each year that cause a half million injuries and take 6,000 lives.
- 49 percent of adults say they have been passengers in a car when the driver was sending or reading text messages on their cell phone.
- Nearly 25 percent of teens admit to responding to a text message once or more every time they drive.
- 78 percent of teens and young adults admit to having read an SMS (media) or text message while driving.
- Nearly 3,300 drivers are killed each year in texting and driving accidents. Teenagers make up the majority of this figure.
- So far in 2013, approximately 919,450 crashes involving drivers using cell phones/texting have been reported. The estimate is about 1 crash every 30 seconds.
- 48% of young Americans from 12-17 say they’ve been in a car while the driver was texting.
References:
Guard Child
CDC
