Texting While Driving Statistics

Texting while driving statistics are important to see as they help to bring into reality just how dangerous this activity can be. This is especially true for teenagers who already are considered high-risk drivers. So, take a minute to look over the following statistics; surely some of them will shock you and maybe even help open your eyes so that you’ll stop texting while driving.

1. Eight out of ten drivers support some type of restriction on texting while driving. Most of these people say that there should be some sort of law restricting any type of cell phone use while driving. Eighty percent of people believe that both text messaging and emailing should be banned while driving.  An additional 67percent of people say that they are supportive of laws that restrict phone calls while driving.
2. Drivers who use cell phones are four times more likely to get into an accident. These accidents aren’t anything minor either according to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). In fact, most of these accidents are serious enough for the driver to get injured.
3. Cell phone usage is so distracting that it actually extends a driver’s reaction time as much as having a blood alcohol concentration of the legal limit, which is .08 percent. This information comes from a study that was done at the University of Utah. The study also shows that there is no difference as to whether this call is from a hand held or a hands free phone.
4. Whenever you are driving while texting your brain activity, which is associated with driving, is reduced by 37 percent. As such, you are only a little more than halfway paying attention to the operation of a heavy vehicle and you can only imagine just how dangerous this is. This information was discovered during a study that was done by Carnegie Mellon.
5. Almost 80 percent of people support enacting some type of cell phone usage restriction. Out of those people who believed in this, nearly three out of four of them believed that this law should apply to all drivers. In other words, certain groups (i.e. teenagers) should not be targeted.