Texting and Driving Dec. 2012 | Page 3

In the U.S. in the year of 2011 23% of all automobile crashes were involved with the use of cell phones. When texting while driving you are 23 times more likely to crash then when not using a cell phone. Although texting is one of the bigger reasons for automobile accidents dialing, reaching for the device, and talking or listening also increase the risk for an accident. One of the biggest reasons people still text and drive is because 48% of kids 12-17 have been in a car while the driver was texting.

In the U.S. one million people text while driving each day. Lots of people are so addicted to Facebook, Twitter, and text messaging that they feel like they have to constantly be in touch so they pick up their phone and start texting away. The minimum time spent texting while driving is 5 seconds. If you were going 55 miles per hour and checked your phone for 5 seconds you would have traveled an entire football field without even glancing up at the road.

People in the U.S. don’t seem to notice how dangerous texting and driving can be. 77% of young adults are confident that it is multitasking and that they can do it. The truth is that it is not multitasking it is driving blind. What’s even worse than texting and driving is surfing the web while driving and 1 out of 5 drivers of all ages do that. Laws have been set to limit the amount of texting and driving. 39 states plus D.C. prohibit all drivers from texting at the wheel.

By:John Bryson

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