Texting and Driving Statistics

There are few riskier activities that people engage in than distracted driving. There are over 260 million motor vehicles in the U.S. and 224 million cell phones. Those numbers often collide in dangerous ways: using a cell phone when driving contributes to 9 motor vehicle fatalities per day. Teen drivers usually account for 6 of those 9 distracted driving fatalities due to their inexperience. Cell phone use while driving is more hazardous to teens’ lifespans than most diseases.

There are three types of distracted driving, manual, cognitive, and visual. Using a cell phone, particularly texting while driving, combines all of the risk factors because it requires the driver to turn his mental attention to the device, manipulate it with his hand, and to look at it. The Institute of Industrial Engineers estimated that texting and driving is 20 times more likely to result in an accident than driving while intoxicated.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 42 percent of teens surveyed admitted to texting and driving in the 30 days prior to the poll. Drivers under age 20 have the highest rate of distracted driving accidents, making car crashes the leading cause of death for that age group.

Cell phones are the primary distractions in 14 percent of fatal vehicle accidents, accounting for over 430 deaths per year, according to the Insurance Information Institute. A very sobering statistic comes from Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute: typical drivers of all ages participate in distracted driving of some sort about 50 percent of the time. Just taking one’s eyes off the road for mere seconds at 55 miles per hour results in vehicles speeding hundreds of yards without an attentive driver.

In addition to drivers and their passengers, another 550 pedestrians and bicyclists are killed each year in distracted driving accidents, says the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

Talking on a cell phone while driving is now illegal in at least 18 states, and some include onerous penalties: Iowa and New Hampshire lead the pack of most punitive states, levying fines for each infraction. A fatal accident resulting from cell phone use in Iowa is considered a felony punishable by 10 years in prison. And a third distracted driving infraction in New Hampshire can carry a two-year license suspension.

Along with the deadly toll of lives lost, experts estimate that property damages from auto accidents in total is over $800 billion per year. Distracted driving accident damages account for $129 billion per year. These figures include lost productivity, court costs, emergency services, medical and rehabilitation services, and costs to employers.