The 10 Most Shocking Facts About Texting and Driving

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• 421,000 people in the United States are injured each year by distracted drivers.

 

• Since 2010, over 660,000 drivers are using cell phones while driving at any given moment in the United States. The Office of Traffic Safety chalks this up to how addicted Americans have become to technology and cell phones.

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• There were 3,142 fatalities caused by distraction-affected crashes in 2020.

 

• People who text while driving are 6 times more likely to get into a crash than those who drive while intoxicated. In short, you’re less likely to cause a crash while driving drunk than you are while texting behind the wheel.

 

• The average amount of time a driver takes to type out a text message is 5 seconds. If you’re driving 55 mph and look down to text for five seconds, you’ve already driven the length of a football field. In 2014, the Journal of Adolescent Health reported that the maximum amount of time a driver can safely look away from the road is only two seconds.

 

• 11 teenagers die every day due to texting and driving. Teenagers are 400% more likely to cause a crash from texting and driving. AT&T’s Teen Driver Survey found that 97% of teenagers think it’s dangerous, while 43% of them engage in the activity anyway.

 

• According to the National Safety Council, cell phone use while driving leads to 6 million crashes per year.

 

• Drivers distracted by texting are 8 times more likely to be involved in a crash than non-distracted drivers.

 

• A University of Utah study reported that a teen driver who is using a cell phone has the same reaction time as a 70-year-old driver who isn’t using a cell phone.

 

• 64% of all vehicle crashes in the United States each year are caused by cell phone usage behind the wheel — that’s 1.6 million crashes.