An important 2013 study demonstrates that the visual manual subtasks of cell
phone use (such as looking,touching, reaching, reading, typing, dialing, scrolling,
etc.) increase accident risk by 300%.  (Virginia TechTransportation Institute,
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

 

If we would all just “Take This Phone and Glove It,” and get the phone out of sight
and out of mind, we would be taking one more huge step toward stopping the
carnage caused by driver cell phone interaction and distraction.  

 

 

Here’s some of the compelling data:

 

• Cell phone use in general results in an even greater number of crashes than texting.  
  25% of all motor vehicle crashes, or 1.4 million crashes, are estimated to arise from
  cell phone use other than texting. (National Safety Council, 2010)
   

• At least 28% of all traffic crashes, or at least 1.6 million crashes each year,  
  involve drivers using cell phones and texting.  (National Safety Council, 2010)

 

• Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (2005, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

 

• An estimated 421,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.  This was a nine percent increase from the estimated 387,000 people injured in 2011. 3,328 were killed. (Distraction.Gov, 2014)

 

• The age group with the greatest proportion of distracted drivers was the under 20 age group. 16% of all drivers younger than 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving. (2009, NHTSA)

 

• 36% of teens say they have been involved in a near-crash because of their own or someone else's distracted driving. (2010, Pew Research Center)

 

• 34% of teens who drive while distracted simply say they're used to multi-tasking. (2010, AAA and Seventeen Magazine)

 

• 49% of adults say they have been passengers in a car when the driver was sending or reading text messages on their cell phone. (2010, Pew Research Center)