Car accidents: texting and driving, a rising problem especially among young drivers and women

Use of cell phones or other electronic devices while driving is dangerous and can cause fatal car accidents. Most drivers know this but they still use their cell phones or other mobile devices to text, look at travel directions, check their emails, consult their calendar appointments, surf the web or play video games.

According to the latest National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) “Driver Electronic Device Use in 2011“, texting or manipulating an hand held device while driving significantly increased from 2010 to 2011.

The trend is particularly alarming among young drivers and women.

The research also showed that the percentage of drivers holding their phones to their ears while driving stayed stable at a high 5% between 2010 and 2011. This rate means that at anytime of the day on the roads of America there is an average of 660 000 people using hand held cell phone while driving.

Drivers using their cellphone while behind the wheels are distracted drivers. They are a serious safety problem to themselves and others.

For more information on distracted driving, please visit www.distraction.gov.