A recent National Transportation Safety Board survey found that nearly 75 percent of motorists say they use their cell phones while driving. Here are seven good reasons why you should turn that cell phone off while behind the wheel:
- Motor vehicle crashes are the #1 cause of death in the U.S. for 3- to 34-year olds.
- At least 1.6 million crashes (28 percent of all crashes) are caused each year by drivers talking on cell phones and texting.
- Forty-eight percent of teens aged 12 to 17 said they’ve been in a car when the driver was texting and 40 percent said they’ve been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger.
- More than 30 research studies comparing drivers’ performance using handheld vs. hands-free phones showed that hands-free devices offer no added safety benefit.
- Talking on a cell phone while driving – whether a handheld or hands-free device – delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol level at the legal limit of .08 percent.
- Sending or reading a text message takes the driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent – at 55 miles per hour – of driving the length of an entire football field, blind.
- The risk of collision becomes 23 times higher when motorists are texting while driving.
So please, turn off your cell phones when you are driving. Drive safely!
