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:
