We recently posted some great tips on ways to prevent accidents, but here we’re going to focus on one aspect of potential accidents, texting. With the holiday season upon us, it’s likely we’ll see an increase in texting as people are out and about more, under stress to get things done before the holidays and generally very busy.
But we want to say one thing to all of that.
DO NOT TEXT AND DRIVE.
Accidents happen enough, but the chances of accidents occurring significantly increase when texting is introduced. One harrowing statistic from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that a fifth of people surveyed in the 18-20 year group and almost a third in the 21-34 age group claimed that texting does not affect their driving. That is a scary amount of people who believe that texting and driving is not a problem.
This survey, with a survey group of some 6,000 showed that about 6% had been in an accident and 7% in a near accident the previous year. Men were slightly more at risk and the younger age groups having the highest risk of an accident or a near miss. Drivers over 65 had the lowest risk of an accident.
Of the 6000 surveyed, of those 718 had a crash or near crash the previous year, about 6% said they were using a phone at the time. The stats were as follows:
4% talking
1% sending a text
1% reading a text
The younger group of 18-20 saw the highest amount of cell phone use at 13%.
2% talking
8% texting
3% reading a text
The age group 25-34 showed the highest rate of phone usage of all through voice calling at 10%.
It’s clear that texting while driving is not a good idea. One study in Australia suggested that texting meant that drivers were spending 400% more time with their eyes off the road!
The more our technology advances, the more we have to distract us and driving is no different. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute discovered stats showing that voice to text was not significantly safer than texting normally. At the end of the day, we are being distracted from the primary focus which should be driving.
We implore everyone, take precautions, drive safely and if you must contact someone, pull over and do it. Don’t text or call and drive. Your life and the lives of others are not worth it.
We have also produced a simple ebook on accident injuries and what can be done about them. The book is entirely free and downloadable right here. It’s 15 pages long, and contains very good information about whiplash, the effects and what can be done. Check it out here.
If you’re in pain right now, if you don’t have to be. Give us a call or schedule an appointment online. We also accept insurance. You can Schedule an appointment here.
