Traffic Safety Facts: Rate of Texting Drivers Continue to Increase

About 812,000 drivers, or 11 percent of motorists, are operating their cell phones at any given time of the day, according to a study conducted by the National Occupant Protection Use Survey.

Highlights of the Study

• Young drivers aged between 16 and 24 are the most likely to use cell phones among all the age group, with 8 percent of them admitting to operate such devices while driving.
• Drivers aged 70 years and older have the lowest rate of cell phone use, with only 1 percent of them saying they operate this communication device while driving.
• Eight percent of female respondents admitted to use their cell phones while driving, 3 percent higher than male drivers. Meanwhile, both genders said they were 100 percent confident with their driving capability.
• Black drivers have the highest rate of cell phone use among other races, with 8 percent of them operating their communication devices behind the wheel.
• Among all motorists, drivers of vans and SUVs are the most likely to use their cell phones while driving.
• Drivers were less likely to use their cell phones if they have passengers.
• Drivers in cities and urban areas are more likely to use phones compared to drivers in rural and suburban areas.

Dangers of Distracted Driving

In a recent survey conducted by the National Safety Council, about 1.6 collisions are linked to cell phone use every year. (Almost 1.4 million crashes caused by talking on phones and 20,000 accidents cause by texting while driving.)

However, some analysts believe that the statistics may be higher as people have the tendency to lie if the crash involves cell phone distraction.

Meanwhile, some people think that using hands-free phones reduces the risk of crashes. However, safety experts believe that this type of communication device can still distract drivers since they are still required to look at the screen and type the numbers.

To show that using cell phones behind the wheel can significantly increase the risk of a collision, researchers from the University of Utah conducted a study revealing that car drivers who are talking on phones and texting increase their chance of a collision by 4 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

But for truckers, the possibility of accidents is higher since they are driving a vehicle which requires longer braking distance and is harder to maneuver than passenger cars.

In a study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, texting truckers are 23 times more likely to crash compared to those who are not operating any communication device.