Is distracted driving very common in the United States?
Distracted driving is incredibly common. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2011, close to one in every five crashes involving an injury was caused by someone who was distracted while driving his or her vehicle. With over 171 billion texts sent and received within the United States by December 2012, you can be sure that some of those messages were sent while people were behind the wheel of a vehicle.How many people are hurt every day because of distracted driving?
Distracted driving takes a real toll on people’s lives. The CDC reports that around nine people are killed each day in the United States because of distracted drivers. On top of that, 1,153 people, on average, are hurt each day because of distracted drivers and their actions on the roads.
How old are people who are distracted on the roads? Is it primarily teens making these mistakes?
While some would like to think so, the truth is that people of all ages talk on their phones and send texts. When the CDC took a survey, 69 percent of those who reported driving in the U.S. stated that they had been on their phones while driving within the last 30 days. Those surveyed were between the ages of 18 and 64.
In a second survey, the same age group was asked about texting while driving. Thirty-one percent of respondents stated they had read or sent texts (including emails) while driving at least once in the last 30 days.
Fuente: Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades, "Distracted Driving,” accessed Dec. 22, 2015