GoAuto Supports "Don't Text and Drive"

Posted By: Greg T. | Date Posted: Jul 29, 2016

Statistics

Individuals who drive while sending or reading text messages are 23 percent more likely to be involved in a car crash than other drivers. A crash typically happens within an average of three seconds after a driver is distracted.

Facts About Texting and Driving

• The United States Department of Transportation notes that cell phones are involved in 1.6 million auto crashes each year that cause a half million injuries and take 6,000 lives.
• According to FocusDriven®, up to 80 percent of all crashes involve some form of driver distraction.
• During any point of the day, 11 percent of drivers are talking on their cell phones, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
• A study from the University of Utah indicated that the reaction time of a teen driver using a cell phone is the same as that of a 70-year-old driver who is not using a cell phone.
• According to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, texting while driving is six times more likely to cause an auto crash than driving when intoxicated.
• The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute installed cameras on dashboards inside truck cabs. From the video footage, on average it took five seconds with their eyes off the road when driver's experienced distractions. The distance covered in five seconds of driving at 55 mph is equivalent to the length of a football field.

Sources: www.donttextdrive.com, AAA, United States Department of Transportation, University of Utah, FocusDriven® Nationwide Insurance study, National Highway Trac Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute