Spinal cord injuries are common in the United States, with over 20,000 occurring annually. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause, responsible for 37% of injuries. The costs of long-term care for spinal cord injuries are immense, averaging $1 million in the first year and $4 million over a lifetime. Distracted driving from activities like cell phone use contributes to thousands of injuries and deaths each year in the US. Teen drivers are particularly at risk from distracted and impaired driving.

1. Every hour of every day someone
sustains a spinal cord injury (SCI).

2. More than 300,000 people
currently have spinal cord
injuries in the U.S.

3. As many as 20,000 spinal cord
injuries occur annually in the U.S.

4. The most common age for
someone to experience an SCI is
19.

5. 81% of those who sustain spinal
cord injuries are male.

6. In 2010, motor vehicle crashes
accounted for 37% of all spinal
cord injuries; Sports 9%, Falls
29%, Violence 14%.

7. The average cost of care for
individuals who have a spinal
cord injury is $1 million the first
year after injury, with an
estimated lifetime cost of $4
million.

8. Distracted driving is a
contributing factor in more than
386,000 injuries and 3,000
deaths each year.

9. U.S. drivers are distracted by
eating, reaching for their phones,
and texting 10% of the time they
are on the road.

10. You could fill a football stadium 5
times with the number of people
who are injured by distracted
drivers every year.

11. In the last 10 years, the U.S. has
lost 5 times as many people to
distracted driving than to the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

12. In the U.S., nearly 12,000 people
die every year in DUI-related
accidents.

13. At all levels of blood alcohol
concentration, the risks of
involvement in a motor vehicle
crash are greater for teens than
for older drivers.

14. Text messaging makes a crash up
to 23 times more likely.

15. 13% of drivers ages 18-20
involved in car wrecks admitted
to texting or talking on their
mobile devices at the time of the
crash.

16. Teens who text while driving
spend approximately 10% of the
time outside of their lane.

17. The use of lap/shoulder belts
reduces the risk of fatal injury to
car occupants by 45% and the
risk of critical injury by 50%.

18. Teens have the lowest seat belt
use of any age group.

19. 12% of high school students have
carried a weapon to school.

20. An estimated 75% of diving-related
spinal cord injuries result
in quadriplegia, the paralysis of
all four limbs.

21. Diving accidents account for
more than half of all sports-related
spinal cord injuries.

22. For more information, please visit:
www.darrellgwynnfoundation.org

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