Texting and driving is an epidemic that has spread throughout Montana and the rest of the country. It will continue to spread so long as people have access to electronic devices such as mobile phones and tablets while they are behind the wheel. Only drivers can make concerted efforts to avoid this task while they are operating their vehicles. Let’s take a look at the dangers of texting and driving.
When a driver decides to text while driving, they will distract themselves in three ways. Those three distracting ways include the following:
- Cognitive: The focus of safe driving is taken away from the driver
- Manual: The driver’s hands are removed from the steering wheel
- Visual: The driver’s eyes are no longer on the road
The statistics surrounding texting and driving, as well as distracted driving, show the true dangers of such an activity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that some nine people are killed every day due to a distracted driver.
In 2014, 26 percent of every car crash in the country involved the use of a mobile phone, according to the National Safety Council (NSC). More than 1,000 people suffer some sort of injury daily due to a distracted driver. A study found that 42 percent of teen drivers texted while driving in 2015.
As you can see, texting and driving is a very dangerous activity. It can lead to horrific accidents because of the driver’s inattention to what’s going on around them. Texting and driving is a form of distracted driving, which can be just as serious a problem as impaired driving.