Texting while driving?

Is it really worth a human life? Is it something so important that it can’t wait a few minutes or even an hour or two? Would killing yourself or someone else be justified by the importance of the message you’re texting about? Are you ready to drastically change your life as well as lives or other people for this one text? Or maybe you think you can text and drive? Or that texting just this once won’t hurt anyone?

Today we will talk about texting while driving. Let’s look at some statistics: According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were a total of 32,166 fatal crashes in the United States involving 48,613 drivers. As a result of those fatal crashes, 35,092 people were killed (in 2015 alone).

Statistics:

• Ten percent of fatal crashes, 15 percent of injury crashes, and 14 percent of all police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2015 were reported as distraction-affected crashes.
• In 2015, there were 3,477 people killed and an estimated additional 391,000 injured in motor vehicle crashes involv- ing distracted drivers.
• Nine percent of all drivers 15 to 19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. This age group has the largest proportion of driv- ers who were distracted at the time of the fatal crashes.
• In 2015, there were 551 nonoccupants (pedestrians, bicyclists, and others) killed in distraction-affected crashes.

Studies show that driving while having a phone pressed to your ear is the equivalent of driving while intoxicated.

Over half of U.S. drivers report having used a cell phone while driving. 7 out of 10 admit to text messaging while driving. You are 3 times more likely to get into a crash if you are dialing or texting on a phone.

Almost 50% of all drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 admit to texting while driving.

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2015, an estimated 2,443,000 people were injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes (Table 4). The number of people injured in distraction-affected crashes in 2015 was estimated at 391,000 (16% of all the injured people). An estimated 30,000 people were injured in 2015 in crashes involving cell phone use or other cell-phone-related activities (8% of all people injured in 2011 distraction-affected crashes).

So many people either died or lost their loved ones due to TWD (Texting While Driving), do not be one of them! Remember, a text can wait. You cannot turn time back and undo a deadly accident, but you can put your phone down and pay attention to the road. Stay safe!

Watch:

Here’s an interesting video about what happens to a person when they’re texting while driving https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOshfzVsUlU

Would you like to read more? Visit https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812381 and stay SAFE on the road!

If you’d like to learn more about our classes, such as Permit Prep, Driving Lessons, or Defensive Driving, please consider signing up for one of our classes by calling us at 602-279-1000 or visiting our page at:

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