Dangers of Cell Phone Use and Texting While Driving
Whether it is someone talking on the phone in line at the grocery store or texting
at the movie theater, cell phone usage is just about everywhere. In an emergency,
a cell phone can be a lifesaver. Cell phone use while driving, however, is an entirely
different story and studies have illustrated the increase in accident risk it creates.
In a survey conducted by the Federal Traffic Safety Agency, 2 in 10 drivers said
they text while driving. Among drivers ages 21 to 24, half said they sent or received
texts while behind the wheel.
Distraction from cell phone use while driving (hand held or hands free) extends
a driver's reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal
limit of .08 percent. (University of Utah)
The No.1 source of driver inattention is use of a wireless device.
(Virginia Tech/NHTSA)
(Traffic Safety Facts-DOT HS 811 611)
Drivers who use cell phones are four times as likely to get into
crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (NHTSA, Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety)
10 percent of drivers aged 16 to 24 years old are on their phone
at any one time.
(Traffic Safety Facts-DOT HS 811 611)
Driving while distracted is a factor in 25 percent of police reported
crashes.
Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated
with driving by 37 percent (Carnegie Mellon)
(Traffic Safety Facts-DOT HS 811 611)
It is the conversation, not the device, that creates the danger. (FocusDriven)
The biggest influence on how teens drive is their parents. Almost two-thirds of
high school teens say their parents talk on a cell phone while driving; almost half
say their parents speed; and almost a third say their parents don’t wear a safety
belt. (AAA Study)
(Traffic Safety Facts-DOT HS 811 611)
As stated by the Governors Highway Safety Association, the public’s interest in
and concern about distracted driving has caused state legislators across the country
and several national safety organizations to focus their efforts on distracted driving.
The major focus of these efforts has been state-by-state legislative campaigns to
mitigate distracted driving, specifically cell phone use. In 2009, that effort was
expanded to state-by-state campaigns to prohibit texting while driving. Examples
of organizations involved in the effort are: