6 Shocking Facts About Distracted Driving

By: Steven Schwartzapfel

Fact 1

Distracted driving causes over 5,000 deaths and about a half a million injuries each year

Fact 2The minimal amount of time your attention is taken away from the road when texting and driving is 4.6 seconds. So if you are traveling at 55 miles per hour, this equals driving the length of a football field without looking at the road. Pretty scary, right?

Fact 3

The largest ratio of distracted drivers is teenagers. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, texting while driving kills 11 teens each day.

Fact 4

The New York Times reports teenagers who eat while driving tripled the risk of a car accident and texting quadrupled the risk. Dialing a phone was the most dangerous activity while driving.

Fact 5

Using a hand-held device while driving makes you 4 times more likely to get into a serious car accident

Fact 6

80% of drivers admit to driving distracted without even using a cell phone. Those percentage of people admitted to putting on make-up while driving, changing clothes while driving and even steering the wheel with their knee while using their hands to eat or drink.

The statistics are endless. Don’t be another statistic by driving distracted.

Spread the word and print out these slides to show your family and friends just how dangerous distracted driving truly is.