The Dangers of Texting and Driving
Auto Insurance Update
A texting driver is twenty three times more likely to have an accident than a non-texting driver is. However, one million people chat and text while driving each day. The average text takes a driver’s eyes off the road for nearly five seconds, so when traveling at 55mph, that is enough, time to cover the length of a football field. Most experts agree texting and driving is equal to driving drunk.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2012, driver distraction was the cause of 18 percent of all fatal crashes (with 3,328 people killed) and crashes resulting in an injury (with 421,000 people wounded). Forty percent of all American teens say they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger, according to a Pew survey.
Stop Texting and Driving
- Recognize that text messaging can be a habit. Get support from your friends by letting them know you are working on breaking the texting habit.
- Create a family vow that everyone will stop using his or her phones while driving.
- If you think you will still be tempted to text and drive, put your phone somewhere you cannot reach it, like the trunk.
- Establish family rules that prohibit texting while driving.
- Take control of your cell phone; don't let it control you. You are the only one who decides when, and if, you send and read a text message.