Don't Text and Drive

Texting While Driving Statistics:

About 6,000 deaths and a half a million injuries are caused by distracted drivers injuries are caused by distracted drivers every year.While teenagers are texting, they spend While teenagers are texting, they spend about 10 percent of the time outside the driving lane they’re supposed to be in.

Talking on a cell phone while driving can make a young driver’s reaction time as make a young driver s reaction time as slow as that of a 70-year-old.

Answering a text takes away your attention for about five seconds. That is attention for about five seconds. That is enough time to travel the length of a football field.

Statistics provided by www.NAIDW.orgp y g

2011 Distracted Driving Statistics:

Most adults who drive admit to engaging Most adults who drive admit to engaging in distracted driving behaviors, according to a HealthDay poll from November 10-to a HealthDay poll from November 1014, 2011. More than 2,800 American adults responded to the poll. Results showed the following statistics:

Approximately 86% of drivers said they ate or drank while driving at some point ate or drank while driving at some point, and 57% said they do it “sometimes” or “often.”Over 1/3 of drivers (37%) have / ( )sent or received text messages while driving, and 18% said they do it regularly.

Forty-one percent of adult drivers have set or changed a GPS system while set or changed a GPS system while driving, and 21% do it “more frequently.”Many adult drivers (36%) q y y ( )have read a map while driving, and 10% do it “sometimes” or “often.”One in five drivers have combed or styled his or her hair while driving. One in ten does it regularlyregularly.

Have you ever seen a driver putting on makeup? Approximately 14% have done makeup? Approximately 14% have done it once, and 7% do it frequently.

About 13% of adult drivers have surfed the Internet while driving.Results of the the Internet while driving.Results of the poll showed that younger drivers were more likely to engage in distracted driving.

Men were more likely to drive while drowsy drive after drinking read a map drowsy, drive after drinking, read a map, use a GPS system, and use the Internet.

A large percentage of the people said they know distracted driving is y gdangerous, but do it anyway.

Driver Electronic Use in 2010According to the National Highway Traffic According to the National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration, the percentage of drivers who were using a cell phone drivers who were using a cell phone (texting or manipulating it in some way) increased to 0.9% in 2010.The percentage of drivers using a cell phone while holding it to their ears was 5% in 2010Th l l f h d h ld ll h 2010The level of hand-held cell phone use was higher among female drivers than it was for male driversthan it was for male drivers.

Younger drivers ages 16 to 24 were more likely to use a hand-held cell phone Morelikely to use a hand held cell phone.Morethan three-quarters reported that they were likely to answer calls on all, most, y , ,or some trips while driving. They also said that they rarely consider traffic situations when deciding to use their cell phones.

Th 3 092 d th i di t tiThere were 3,092 deaths in distraction-related accidents in 2010, but the number is likely much highernumber is likely much higher.

Most drivers said they are willing to answer a call or text while driving but answer a call or text while driving, but most of these same drivers said they would feel unsafe as a passenger in a car p gwhere the driver was sending or receiving text messages.

Study Reveals the Dangers of Texting While DrivingTexting While Driving

The following statistics come from a The following statistics come from a study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI):p ( )

Of all cell phone related tasks – including talking, dialing, or reaching for the phone – texting while driving is the most dangerousdangerous.

Teen drivers are four times more likely than adults to get into car crashes or than adults to get into car crashes or near crash events directly related to talking on a cell phone or texting.A car g p gdriver dialing a cell phone is 2.8 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-distracted driver.

A driver reaching for a cell phone or any th l t i d i i 1 4 ti other electronic device is 1.4 times more

likely to experience a car crash. A car driver talking on their phone is 1 3 A car driver talking on their phone is 1.3

times more likely to get into an accident.

A truck driver texting while driving is 23 2 times more likely to get into an 23.2 times more likely to get into an accident than a trucker paying full attention to the road.

A truck driver dialing a cell is 5.9 times more likely to crash.y

A trucker reaching for a phone or other device is 6.7 times more likely to experience a truck accident.

For every 6 seconds of drive time, a driver sending or receiving a text driver sending or receiving a text message spends 4.6 of those seconds with their eyes off the road. This makes ytexting the most distracting of all cell phone related tasks.

Pennsylvania Cell Phone Car Crash StatsStats

In Pennsylvania although there are no In Pennsylvania, although there are no laws regarding talking on the cell or sending text messages while driving, g g gthere are emerging statistics that show the connection between cell phone use

d kand car wrecks.

There were 23,059 crashes involving 16-to 19-year-olds in 2008 resulting in 194 to 19 year olds in 2008, resulting in 194 deaths. Driver distraction contributed to about 10% of them, but the number ,could be much higher.In Pennsylvania, there were 1,298 cell phone related

faccidents in 2008. Of those accidents, 9 resulted in death.

F 2003 t 2006 id t f From 2003 to 2006, car accidents from cell phone use lead to 50 deaths across the state of Pennsylvaniathe state of Pennsylvania.

Cell phone-related car accidents shot up 43 percent in western Pennsylvania from 43 percent in western Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2006.A normal, undistracted driver fails to notice an important road pevent (like another driver mistake) 3% of the time. An adult dialing a cell phone

fmisses that event 13% of the time, and a teenager dialing a cell phone misses it 53% of the time According to PennDOT 53% of the time.According to PennDOT, from 2002 to 2006 there were 5,715 car accidents linked to the use of hand-held accidents linked to the use of hand held cell phones in PA.

PennDOT also reports 367 accidents in the same time period involving hands the same time period involving hands free cell phones or Bluetooth communication devices.

In 2004 alone, hand-held cell phone use In 2004 alone, hand held cell phone use contributed to over 1,170 Pennsylvania car crashes.

Accidents involving talking or texting on a cell phone rose from 168 in 2003 to a cell phone rose from 168 in 2003 to 228 in 2005 in the Western Pennsylvania region. That’s a 36 percent increase in g pover two years.

Statistics provided by Edgar Snyder & p y g yAssoc.

With statistics as catastrophic as this, its amazing that anyone still texts and amazing that anyone still texts and drives. The effects of a motor vehicle accident are never limited to those directly involved in the accident itself.

These victims have families, children, husbands, wifes, moms, dads, grandkids, brothers and sisters. The effects have

h i t th t li such an impact that so many lives are impacted.

The consequences of a car accident almost always extend beyond a person's almost always extend beyond a person s initial injuries and trauma. Along with the impact on the family, there is future p y,medical treatments, lost wages and earnings and the extent of the emotional

ff fpain and suffering resulting from the car accident. And God forbid, the accident involves a fatalityinvolves a fatality.

So please don't text and drive. Be a responsible driver Think about the responsible driver. Think about the impact your actions may have on so many lives, mothers, daughters, fathers, y , , g , ,sons, parents, and so on. Think if it were your family that had to deal with losing you. That text can wait until you reach your destination, lives are counting on it!

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