Distracted driving, especially among teens, is a leading cause of traffic accidents and fatalities. Nearly 80% of crashes involve some form of driver distraction like cell phone use, which impairs driving more than having a blood alcohol content of .08. Talking on the phone or listening to music decreases the brain power a driver uses for safe driving by 40%. Resources like distraction.gov can provide more information on avoiding distracted driving.

1. SER 005/11 What Does Distracted Driving Look Like? Mar/Apr 2011
Nearly 80% of crashes and 65% of near-crashes
involved some sort of driver inattention.
Facts about Distracted Driving
Distracted driving is the number one killer of American teens.
Alcohol-related accidents among teens have dropped. But teenage traffic fatalities
have remained unchanged, because distracted driving is on the rise. (Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance Study and NHTSA Study)
Brain power used while driving decreases by 40% when a driver listens to
conversation or music. (Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon
University Study)
Drivers on mobile phones are more impaired than drivers at .08 BAC. (University of
Utah Study)
Source: www.negligentdriving.com
To learn more about distracted driving
click on the distraction.gov icon (at right)
or go to www.distraction.gov
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