Distracted driving is one of the riskiest behaviors on the road today. Thousands of accidents occur every day as a result of distracted driving, and there are likely many more near-misses where someone almost becomes involved in a crash due to lack of attention to the wheel.
Distraction.gov provides some details on the dangers of distracted driving, which they define as encompassing the use of handheld devices/cell phones; entering data into a GPS; reading; grooming and using in-vehicle controls like music or heating systems.
According to Distraction.gov:
- Using a cell phone to send or receive a text while driving ups your chances of becoming involved in a wreck by 23 percent.
- Texting takes your eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds.
- Cell phone use was reported in 18 percent of distraction-related fatalities in America.
- 40 percent of teenagers have said they had an experience where they were in a car with a driver who was using a cell phone in a way that created a hazard.
- 11 percent of drivers 20 years old and younger who were in fatal auto accidents were distracted at the time.
Young drivers may be especially vulnerable to the dangers of distracted driving, both because they are more likely to embrace technologies like Smartphones that allow for texting and emailing, and because they are not experienced enough drivers to fully understand the dangers of their behavior.
Technology is a wonderful thing, but it is important for the current generation of young people to grow up with a healthy respect for the dangers of becoming distracted by technology while driving.
Spread the word to stay safe and Arrive Alive!
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