We live in a world where people expect instant, real-time information 24 hours a day, and those expectations don’t stop just because someone gets behind the wheel. Drivers still don’t realize – or choose to ignore – the danger they create when they take their eyes off the road, their hands off the wheel, and their focus off driving.
For anyone who thinks they can talk on their phone, text, apply make-up, or do any other distracting activity while driving, it’s time for a crash course in reality from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
- In 2013, 3,154 people were killed and approximately 424,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.
- Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to be involved in a serious crash.
- In 2013, 10 percent of fatal crashes, 18 percent of injury crashes and 16 percent of all motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2013 were reported as distraction-affected crashes.
- In 2013, 10 percent of all drivers 15-19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted.
While those numbers might sound like just statistics, they’re anything but. They could be parents, children, neighbors and friends from right here in Lexington County. There are too many sad tales of deaths and injuries that could have been prevented had drivers been paying attention to the road instead of someone or something else.
No one is immune from the dangers of distracted driving. So please remember: One text or call could wreck it all.