At least 1.6 million accidents each year involve drivers using cell phones and texting.

Hang up and drive

Oct. 22, 2012
Lessen the chances of accidents

I don’t like to date myself, but I can remember a time when there were no mobile phones. If you needed to make a phone call while driving, you had to get off the road, find a phone and make a call.

Back then, “texting” was nonexistent.

Nowadays, it seems the vast majority of people behind the wheel are using a mobile communications device - and that scares me.

The National Safety Council estimates at least 28 percent of all traffic crashes - or at least 1.6 million accidents each year - involve drivers using cell phones and texting.

That equates to 6,000 deaths and 500,000 injuries a year.

A recent Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study of commercial drivers found the following:

- A safety-critical event is 163 times more likely if a driver is texting, e-mailing or accessing the Internet.

- A truck driver texting while driving is 23.2 times more likely to get into an accident than a trucker paying full attention to the road.

- A truck driver dialing a cell is 5.9 times more likely to crash.

- A trucker reaching for a phone or other device is 6.7 times more likely to experience a truck accident.

- For every 6 seconds of drive time, a driver sending or receiving a text message spends 4.6 of those seconds with their eyes off the road.

Are you concerned now?

Think about those statistics the next time you get behind the wheel.

About the Author

David A. Kolman | Contributor - Fleet Maintenance

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