Using your cell phone while driving makes you a whopping 23 percent more likely to get into an auto accident, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — and more than a quarter of all car accidents in the United States involve the use of cell phones.
Any auto accident lawyer will tell you that cell phone use — including texting and driving — has a marked effect on crash statistics from the East Coast to Salt Lake City. However, what kinds of accidents are most likely to involve texting and driving?
Fender-Benders
Texting while driving takes your eyes off the road for an average of five seconds at a time — that’s plenty of time not to notice the car in front of you suddenly braking for a right-turn or a pedestrian. Many motorists admit to texting while stopped at a red light, but what happens when the light suddenly turns green? For all too many drivers, the time it takes to finish that text message is just enough time to rear-end that car in front of you.
In addition, texting while driving slows your brake reaction speed by 18 percent, meaning you are significantly less likely to avoid a sudden obstacle in your path — whether that is a pedestrian, an animal or another driver. According to a study from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, the reaction time of a teen using a cell phone is comparable to that of your average 70-year-old behind the wheel — so avoid that call to your lawyer and keep your eyes on the road.
Sideswipes
Motorists who text while driving spend a significant amount of time looking away from the road — which isn’t exactly conducive to driving in a straight line. Teenagers who text while driving spend approximately 10 percent of their time driving outside of their own lane, which makes them a hazard to drivers traveling in the lane next to them.
“Failure to Keep in Proper Lane” is an all-too-common common citation on police auto accident reports from Salt Lake City to the Midwest. Avoid a nasty sideswipe and a call to your lawyer and keep your phone in your pocket where it belongs.
Fatal Crashes
While texting and driving most commonly results in relatively minor auto accident injuries, on average 11 teenagers die every day due to texting and driving accidents. From Salt Lake City to the Atlantic, texting and driving kills — so listen to your local lawyer and put your phone away.