Stats & Facts about Texting & Driving

Dangers of texting and driving

Everyone knows how dangerous drinking and driving can be. It’s extremely illegal to drive under the influence, but it’s just as dangerous and illegal to text and drive as well. Texting and driving has become a huge issue over the past few years, and we thought we’d take a second to raise some awareness about the dangers of this fad. No text message is so important that it’s worth losing a life over, so think about this information and these statistics the next time you consider texting while behind the wheel.

[ READ MORE: Things Teenage Drivers Should Know ]

Texting & Driving Statistics

  • Per the National Safety Council, cell phone use causes 1.6 million crashes per year
  • T&D causes approximately 330,000 injuries per year
  • T&D causes 25% of automotive accidents
  • T&D causes 11 teenage deaths per day
  • 21% of fatalities in teen drivers were caused by cell phone distractions
  • Having an additional passenger doubles the risk of a fatal accident for teenage drivers
  • Having two or more passengers raises that risk to 5x
  • Approximately 660,000 drivers are utilizing their cell phones behind the wheel of an automobile right this second, and at any time during the day

Other T&D Facts

  • T&D is 6-times more likely to cause an accident than driving under the influence
  • T&D causes a 400% increase in time spent with eyes off the road
  • Texting is the most dangerous of all cell phone-related tasks
  • 94% of drivers support a ban on T&D
  • 74% of drivers support a ban on hand-held cell phone use period

[ READ MORE: 5 Safest Used Cars for Teenage Drivers ]

So, as you can see, texting and driving – and cell phone use in general – behind the wheel of a car is a very big problem in today’s society. Be sure to think about all this information the next time you consider reading a message while you’re behind the wheel.