April 2013 is the month of Distracted Driving Awareness.
Here are some stats from the Official US Government Site for Distracted Driving...
Texting is by far the most alarming form of distracted driving because it requires visual, manual and cognitive attention.
Over 3,000 people die each year in vehicle crashes resulting from distracted driving.
About 400,000 people are injured each year in vehicle crashes resulting from distracted driving.
40% of all American teens say they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger. (PEW)
Drivers who use hand-held devices are 4 times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (Monash University)
Text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted. (VTTI)
Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. At 55 MPH, that's the equivalent of driving the length of a football field, blind. (VTTI)
Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37%. (Carnegie Mellon)
Finally, it is not just First Responders - Police Officers, Firefighters and EMTs - who need to convey this message. We all need to spread the word!
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