DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE.

FACT #1Five 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.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS!!!!

CRASHHHH!!!

GRRR!!

FACT #2A texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-texting driver.

• 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.

FACT #3Of those killed in distracted driving related crashes, 995 involved reports of a cell phone as a distraction

DRIVING WHILE TEXTING SIX TIMES MORE DANGEROUS THAN DRIVING WHILE DRUNK

• Driving a vehicle while texting is six times more dangerous than driving while intoxicated according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The federal agency reports that sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent when traveling at 55 mph of driving the length of an entire football field while blindfolded

FACT #4Using 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 at the legal limit of .08 percent.

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM 9 PEOPLE WHO DIED BECAUSE OF TEXTING

• It was normal for people to drive drunk and not bother to wear a seatbelt 50 years ago.

• Eventually, everyone realized how bad of an idea this was and now driving drunk and not wearing a seatbelt are both illegal.

• Today, many argue that texting while driving is just as bad, if not worse, than driving drunk.

• Back in 2006, the University of Utah found that, "... people are as impaired when they drive and talk on a cell phone as they are when they drive intoxicated at the legal blood-alcohol limit" of 0.08 percent, which is the minimum level that defines illegal drunken driving in most U.S. states.

• Companies like AT&T have created campaigns that encourage cell phone users to avoid texting while driving at all costs.

• Using a cell phone while driving is now illegal in certain states across the country. "Thirty-eight states have laws restricting or outlawing the use of electronic devices while driving," U.S. Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood said last year. But people still use their cell phones while driving.

• The next time you get in a car, remember these nine people who lost their lives because of texting while driving.

FACT #520 percent of injury crashes in 2009 involved reports of distracted driving.

FACT #620% of teens who share vehicles had texted while driving, compared to 35% who own their own cars.

FACT #749% of drivers with cell phones under the age of 35 send or read text messages while driving

FACT #8Distracted driving is the number one killer of American teens

FACT #9Brain power used while driving decreases by 40% when a driver listens to conversation or music.

FACT #1077% of young adult drivers are very somewhat confident that they can safely text while driving

HOW WILL YOU STOP TEXTING & DRIVING?

• Designate a texter

• Silence is golden

• Out of sight, out of mind