Back to school season means more young drivers on the road. New drivers have more temptations to distract them than ever, including cell phones. Young adults and teens have proven to be especially vulnerable to this risky driving behavior. 

Texting and Driving Can Be Fatal

Many bad choices and risky habits only affect the person who engages in them. Texting and driving is different. Everyone around the texting driver is in danger, whether it is passengers in that car, nearby vehicles, or pedestrians in the vicinity. According to recent data, 

• Texting while driving is six times more likely to cause a car accident than drunk driving
• 4,637 people died in car crashes in 2018 due to cell phone use.

It is true that drivers of all ages can be guilty of texting and driving, but young, inexperienced drivers may be most likely to engage in unsafe behaviors. The risk-taking attitude of teens and young adults combined with their lack of driving experience tends to result in a higher likelihood of accidents.

All it Takes is a Few Seconds

According to the advocacy website, Texting and Driving Safety, the minimum amount of time a driver is distracted by a text is five seconds. In that amount of time, at highway speeds, you will travel the length of a football field. Just a few seconds can result in a huge amount of risk.

An infographic on the website provides some frightening statistics regarding texting and teen driving:

• 77% of young adults are very or somewhat confident that they can safely text while driving
• 55% of young adult drivers claim it is easy to text while they drive
• Teens who text while driving spend approximately 10% of driving time outside of their lane.

If you have a young driver in your family, now is a great time to remind them of what’s at risk with texting and driving.