Texting while driving has become a nationwide epidemic. According to and reported by News 12, texting while driving causes 1000 accidents and 9 fatalities per day. Teens are among the drivers who are most impaired by distraction. Here are some statistics that will hopefully make you think twice before you pick you your phone:
• Drivers who are texting are 23 times more likely to get into an accident.
• At least 1.6 million crashes (28 percent of all crashes) are caused each year by drivers either texting or talking on cellphones.
• 5,500 people were killed in 2009 because of “distracted driving.”
• 71 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 49 admit they text or talk on the phone while they drive.
• In a recent survey, 90 percent of teenage drivers acknowledged such distracted driving behavior as texting or talking on a cellphone although most respondents were aware that the behavior increased the risk of an accident.
• 52 percent of drivers said they feel less safe on the roads now, than they did five yearsago. The leading reason cited (88 percent) was distracted driving by motorists who drive while texting and emailing.
AT&T has come up with a plan to try and reduce the number of people who text and drive. It is called the It can wait campaign, which is targeted at young drivers. It is a series of short videos on fatalities caused byno texting texting and driving. They are asking that everyone take a pledge to not text and drive. “No text message, email, website or video is worth the risk of endangering my life or the lives of others on the road. I pledge to never text and drive and will take action to educate others about the dangers of texting while driving. NO text is worth the risk. It can wait.” To take the pledge visit www.itcanwait.com