The Truth About Texting While Driving

According to a AAA poll, 94% of teens said texting while driving is a serious danger. Unfortunately, the same study revealed that 35% of those respondents still admitted to doing it. The presence of information like this goes to show that awareness around the dangers of texting while driving is on the rise, but drivers continue to ignore the risks it presents. While it has yet to reach the level of attention drunk driving has received, one look at the statistics below and this infographic on teen driving safety should change that.

● 3,331 deaths were caused by distracted driving in 2011
● You are 23X more likely to be in an accident if you text while driving
● On average, it takes 5 seconds to read a text message. Traveling at 55 mph, that’s equivalent to driving the length of a football field blindfolded.
● 196 billion text messages were sent in June 2011, a 50% increase from the year prior

We’ve got a problem, and a growing one at that. Texting is on the rise, as are the number of fatalities on the road due to texting while driving. There are strong efforts being made to reduce this total and it will take time for that work to show it’s results, but this trend of deaths due to distracted driving needs to stop.

Additionally, a study conducted by Car and Driver Magazine revealed some incredible data comparing the effects of texting while driving to drunk driving. Believe it or not, texting while driving is more dangerous than drunk driving. And it’s not even close.

Setup:
● Testing effects of texting while driving vs effects of drunk driving
● Done on same day with same weather/road conditions
● Focused on driver’s reaction times to a light at eye level, which simulates a lead car’s brake lights
● Testing done on a rented taxiway, driving in a straight line
Results:
● Baseline: 0.54 seconds to brake
● Legally drunk: Add 4 feet
● Reading: Add 36 feet
● Typing: Add 70 feet

Surprised? Me too. Having been raised to never drink and drive and with facts and stories on the dangers of drunk driving present throughout my education, it’s always been known as the greatest evil we face on the road. That does remain true as drunk driving fatalities still outnumber distracted driving deaths, but the fact that texting while driving is actually this much more dangerous than drunk driving is a complete shock to me. It’s clear that we need to continue to raise awareness and make the facts around dangers of texting while driving more present in today’s society.

Jason Zimelman is a public relations and community outreach coordinator for Safer America, an organization dedicated to spreading safety awareness. You can also find Jason on Google+.