Ten percent of all drivers 15 to 19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted at the time of the crashes. <span>(NHTSA)
</span><span>Teens have the reaction time of a 70-year-old when distracted while driving.
</span><span>Crash risk is four times higher when a driver uses a cell phone, whether or not it’s hands-free.
</span><span>About 1.2 million car crashes in 2013 involved drivers talking on phones, according to the National Safety Council, and at least 341,000 involved text messaging.</span>
Texting while driving is a growing trend, and a national epidemic, quickly becoming one of the country’s top killers. Drivers assume they can handle texting while driving and remain safe, but the numbers don’t lie.
Texting While Driving Causes:
1. 1,600,000 accidents per year – National Safety Council 2. 330,000 injuries per year – Harvard Center for Risk Analysis Study 3. 11 teen deaths EVERY DAY – Ins. Institute for Hwy Safety Fatality Facts 4. Nearly 25% of ALL car accidents
Texting While Driving Is:
1. About 6 times more likely to cause an accident than driving intoxicated 2. The same as driving after 4 beers – National Hwy Transportation Safety Admin. 3. The number one driving distraction reported by teen drivers
Texting While Driving:
1. Makes you 23X more likely to crash – National Hwy Transportation Safety Admin. 2. Is the same as driving blind for 5 seconds at a time – VA. Tech Transportation Institute 3. Takes place by 800,000 drivers at any given time across the country 4. Slows your brake reaction speed by 18% – HumanFactors & Ergonomics Society 5. Leads to a 400% increase with eyes off the road
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Sesame Street were television programs that both dealt with issues previously unaddressed in children’s programming. This is the broad message that the passage is trying to communicate to readers.
