Sometimes you think it feels like laws don’t even make a difference. Every time you drive to work, you see countless people texting while they’re driving. Maybe you’re even riding in your carpool with a driver who won’t put the phone down.
To better understand the situation and the risks, here are a few critical texting and driving statistics:
Accidents are as much as 23 times more likely for texting drivers.
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A full 55 percent of teens said talking on the phone was difficult, but texting was not.
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About 25 percent of car accidents can be linked to texting and driving in the United States.
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Even drunk driving isn’t as risky, as some studies show texting drivers are six times as likely to crash.
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The National Safety Council (NSC) says that around 1.6 million annual accidents are caused by phones.
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Putting aside fatal accidents, about 330,000 people are hurt in these crashes.
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Just five seconds of distraction are easily enough to cause a crash. Many people think they can send or read texts quickly, without a risk.
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When asked, a full 34 percent of teens admitted that they would text while behind the wheel.
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When those from 18 to 20 years old where asked after car accidents if they would text and drive, about 13 percent said yes.
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Texting drivers often leave their lanes. One study found that they spent roughly 10 percent of the total time they were in the car driving at least partially in the wrong lane.
Even though people know the risks, texting and driving continues. If you’re hurt in an accident, you need to know what legal rights you may have to seek out compensation.
Source: Mom Junction, “5 Reasons Behind Teens Texting And Driving,” Debolina Raja, accessed Nov. 14, 2017
