Is your drive home your favorite talk time? Do you sometimes get in a quick text while driving? Before you reach for the phone the next time you’re behind the wheel, consider these facts.
- .08: The blood alcohol concentration level at which it is illegal to drive. Drivers with this blood alcohol level had the same slowed reaction as drivers using a cell phone while driving, whether hand-held or hands-free.
- 1 in 4: car crashes involve the driver using a cell phone at the time of the crash.
- 11%: The percentage of U.S. drivers using a cell phone at any given moment.
- 50%: The amount of information drivers don’t “see” in their driving environment while talking on a hands-free device. You might “look at” the environment, but you can’t process the information the same. This is called “inattention blindness.”
- 639,245: The number of crashes so far this year caused by drivers using cell phones or texting as of 06/29/11. For an updated number, see the Cell Phone Crash Estimate Model.
- 5 seconds: The average amount of time texting takes your eyes off the road... So if you’re driving 55 mph that’s like driving the length of a football field completely blind.
When you’re having a conversation with a passenger in your car, you’re both monitoring the driving situation. Your passenger can even alert you to a traffic danger— the person on the other end of your cell phone can’t.
Pick up tips for talking to teens about distracted driving at distracteddriving.gov.
Sources: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, All State Insurance Company, National Safety Council, U.S. Department of Transportation, USA Today.
