Texting and Driving, here are the facts, the simple truth.
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Learn about Texting n Driving Dangers - TextingnDriving.com is here for your education and understanding of the dangers associated with texting while driving. Texting and driving is not only against the law in 46 states, but can also easily turn a harmless drive into a nightmare. Just think about it, what if you looked away for just a moment, and didn't notice that the car you were driving changed lanes into oncoming traffic. If you are lucky enough to look up in time and see you were not in your lane anymore, you could react quick enough to save yourself, and maybe others as well. But far to many people, a near miss was not their fate. Texting and driving is dangerous. Texting and driving does kill, and has many many times.

   
Cell phone found in drivers hand, was the text worth it? source: Facebook
 
Bus Driver Hit Truck While Texting

Some Startling Facts:

* 80% of crashes, and 65% of near crashes, involved some form of driver inattention within 3 seconds of the incident.

** 57% of American drivers admit to texting behind the wheel. (I'm guessing more actually, but some probably didn't want to admit to texting n driving.)

*** Study: 74% of Americans admit to distracted driving, 19% using web

** 89% of Americans adults think sending text messages or e-mails while driving is distracting, dangerous and should be outlawed.

    

By KOMO ~ Friday, February 05, 2016

BATTLE GROUND, Wash.(KOMO) -- A 17-year-old girl is now facing criminal charges after she pulled off a "hat trick" of distractions while driving along SR-503 in Southwestern Washington Friday morning. The girl was heading north near milepost 13 outside of Battle Ground when a car ahead of her slowed to turn into a driveway. That driver noticed the teen coming up fast behind her and tried to veer to the right, but her car was struck in the back left corner. The teen's car was spun around and rolled over, while the victim's car was knocked into a ditch, according to troopers. The teen was taken to Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The victim in the car ahead of her wasn't injured. Investigators say the teen admitted to troopers she was texting, using Facetime and Snapchatting while driving. The police report says the teen will be charged with reckless driving.

Texting-n-driving crackdown coming July 4th weekend.

Cops out on patrol, catching drivers texting and driving.  Nationwide, 46 states and the district of Columbia ban text messaging behind the wheel, and many states prohibit texting by novice drivers.

State tropper issuing a $124 ticket for talking on cell phone while driving.  Washington State Patrol trooper Brandy Kessler checks a driver's registration before issuing her a $124 ticket for driving while talking on a cell phone on June 10 in South Hill, Wash. Drew Perine/AP

Does this look safe? How many times have
you seen someone, or been part of something
like this? Look at the speedometer, it is about at
70 MPH. Do your part, and don't help to promote
Texting n Driving.
Texting n Driving, while a passenger helps to drive so the driver can text, and going 70 MPH.

What's new in the Texting n Driving world? New laws and more...

Texting n Driving: Teenagers Aren't the Only Ones Doing it - Did you think that only teenagers were irresponsible enough to text message on their cell phones while driving? With so many options for teens it's easy to see how kids could easily be considered a high risk for texting and driving. According to a Pew Research study, adult drivers are text messaging while driving too. Compare the following statistics for teenage drivers and adult drivers:

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Teens and Cell Phones
75% of American teenagers own cellphones
and 66% of these teens text message.
82% of teens between 16 and 17 have a cell phone.
34% of teens who text message admit to
texting while driving.
48% of teens say they have been a passenger
in a car whose driver was texting.
Teenager texting n driving.
Adults and Cell Phones
82% of adults have cell phones.
47% of adult cell phone users report
texting while driving.
27% of all adults report texting while driving.
49% of adults report they have been a passenger
in a car when the driver was texting.
44% of adult report they have used a cell phone in a
car in a manner that puts themselves or others at
danger.
17% of adults report bumping into something while
driving when using a cell phone.
adult texting n driving.

Texting and Driving - A Simple Explanation, avoid texting while driving.Texting and Driving - A Simple Explanation - Several states are using the busy Independence Day weekend to spotlight a dangerous increase in cell phone use while driving.

Cell phone use - especially texting - has become so ingrained in society that far too many people ignore laws banning the practice. A 2008 study by the mobile industry’s trade association CTIA found that among teens ages 13 to 19, 57 percent view their cellphones as key to their social life, and most view texting as a vital feature.

Yet to mix this activity with driving is statistically extremely dangerous.

The California Highway Patrol released a report Wednesday showing that talking on a cell phone while behind the wheel is the leading factor contributing to crashes blamed on inattentive drivers. Furthermore, the US Department of Transportation reports that distracted driving played a role in nearly 6,000 deaths and 500,000 injuries in 2009.

The key to reversing the trend is education about the danger, say several experts. Physiologically, there are three different kinds of distraction, say experts: visual (taking eyes off the road), manual (taking one or more hands off the wheel), and cognitive (mental attention.) Texting involves all three, which a July 2009 study from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute shows increases the risk of a crash 23.2 times higher than non-distracted driving – higher than driving while intoxicated.

“That is a recipe for danger,” says Bob Petrancosta, the VP of Safety for Con-way Freight, a $4.3 billion freight transportation and logistics services company. “The message needs to be communicated across society … and if it were really understood, maybe we would have a chance to stem the problem.”

But cell phone use – particularly texting – has become attitudinal and built-in, studies show.

The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project reports that text messaging has become the preferred method of communication for American teenagers, with one in three teens sending more than 100 texts a day. The same study found that 26 percent of US teens admit to texting while driving. And the National Safety Council announced in January of this year that nearly 30 percent of all auto accidents were primarily caused by using a cell phone while driving.

"We’re now a mobile society," says Chicago attorney Howard Ankin. "Everyone wants to use their phone while driving and not be stuck and unproductive in traffic. Most people think the people who get in accidents while using a cell phone is the other guy, not them," he says.

“In congested cities across California, where the commuters can spend hours in traffic, using a cellphone to send a text or email can seem harmless,” says Reza Torkzadeh, a personal injury lawyer and author of “Accidents Happen But Who’s Going to Pay the Bills?” She says studies have shown 8 out of 10 drivers support some type of restriction or ban on mobile device usage while driving.

Since California's hands-free law took effect two years ago, banning cell phone use behind the wheel, California has issued an estimated 500,000 tickets to drivers ignoring the law. Nationwide, 28 states and the district of Columbia ban text messaging behind the wheel, and nine states prohibit texting by novice drivers. Six new texting-while-driving bans will go into effect in July.

But many in law enforcement want stronger penalties and deterrents and more tools for enforcement.

“I would appreciate stricter laws," says Colonel Brendan Doherty of the Rhode Island State Police. "We need search warrant capability so when we are researching an accident, we can find out if one or more of the drivers was texting at the time of the accident," he says. Rhode Island prohibits texting but not cell phone use, which makes enforcement problematic, he says.

One bright spot is that there are a host of technological advances making their way into the marketplace, says experts.

Coinciding with the holiday weekend, Iconosys Inc., a mobile app maker, has announced several applications that can send automatic responses to text senders.

“It has become commonplace among youth that when they can’t immediately text back to a received message, they feel like the sender will feel ignored,” says Iconosys president Wayne Irving II. His company's applications – some free – are capable of sending messages that say, “I’m driving a car now. When I can pull over, I will call you back.” Some are even cued automatically by satellite technology that shows when the cell phone is in motion.

“We are trying to develop these for youth who want to be cool but also don’t want parents and bosses being able to snoop too much over their shoulders,
says Mr. Irving. By Daniel B. Wood

This is an email sent to me by another concerned person, about the dangers and epidemic we have called Texting n Driving...

 It is sad how our government is handling the driving and texting epidemic. Programs, media, and laws are not correcting or even putting a dent into the problem. They were showed a simple solution over a year ago with next to no cost to the public for new and used vehicles. The DOT and Ray Lahoods people wanted nothing to do with this solution. As far as I’m concerned they should be responsible for all accidents and deaths caused from texting and driving. I’m one person that believes everyone in our federal government that has anything to do with the epidemic of texting and driving should be fire and held responsible. The design and product we came up with is so simple and so complete that it eliminates text and driving 100% no matter what with no exceptions. Even the FCC liked and approved our product and design. With our design and product there is no depending on GPS or movement of the vehicle. The cost of our design and product is at the most $50.00 per vehicle with no monthly payments or subscriptions. Once installed no choice and no exceptions the epidemic is 100% cured. All the other products and programs out there do not take care of the problem 100% and depends on choices, exceptions, GPS, and/or additional and monthly costs. Ours design and product has none of that it just stops texting and driving in its tracks. How many deaths does it take before our government gets serious about creating a true solution? When it came to visibility to SUVs backing up they came up with a solution in no time at all, so why not texting and driving? If you have any questions please call (574-261-6539) or email (ld.windwire@yahoo.com) me.
Sincerely, David Smith

**** Did you know?

• Five seconds is the average time a driver’s eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling 55 mph, that is enough time to cover the length of a football field.
• In 2011, at least 23 percent of auto collisions involved cell phones, equaling 1.3 million crashes.
• At any given daylight moment across America, about 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010.
• In 2011, 3,331 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver, compared to 3,267 in 2010. An additional, 387,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver, compared to 416,000 injured in 2010.
• A texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-texting driver.
• Engaging in visual-manual subtasks (such as reaching for a phone, dialing and texting) associated with the use of hand-held phones and other portable devices increased the risk of getting into a crash by three times.
• Using a cell phone while driving, whether it is handheld or hands-free, delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.
• Forty-eight percent of young drivers have seen parents drive while talking on a cell phone and 15 percent of young drivers have seen their parents texting while driving.
• Eleven percent of all drivers under the age of 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crash. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted.
• Sixty percent of drivers use cell phones while driving. Over 60 percent of American teens admit to risky driving, and nearly half of those also admit to text messaging behind the wheel.


Texting and Driving, It CAN wait.


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Footnotes:

* NHTSA - (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) - NHTSA, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute Release Findings of Breakthrough Research on Real-World Driver Behavior, Distraction and Crash Factors

** Driving While Texting Statistics - whocanisue.com

*** Johnston Moore & Thompson - Attorney at Law - Huntsville personal injury law.

**** www.textinganddrivingsaftey.com; www.distraction.gov; University of Utah; 2011 Harris Poll

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