The Wininger Law Firm - December 10, 2012
- Car Accident
Driving while texting or talking on the phone is a very common practice of the majority of drivers today. Even though drivers know this practice is dangerous, most participate anyway.
Another dangerous practice that is on the rise on roadways across America, is that of surfing the internet while driving. This practice is known as “webbing.” Just how big a problem is webbing?
State Farm Insurance conducted a survey to answer this question. According to the study the company conducted of 1,000 drivers, 48% of drivers between the ages of 18 to 29 admitted they have accessed the Internet while driving. Webbing has increased by 17% in three years.
State Farm found that 43% of drivers in the same age group said they check their email while driving, too. This is an increase from 32% in 2009.
State Farm discovered that in 2011, 30% of people in this age group updated their social networks while driving, as well.
Why are these dangerous distracted driving practices increasing? The answer to this question is quite obvious: the majority of drivers nowadays have smartphones, phones which enable a driver to not only text others, but to check their email, surf the internet, update personal accounts, etc.
Research has shown that using your smartphone while driving is very dangerous.
- If you text behind the wheel, you are 23 times more likely to be in a car accident.
- It takes an average of 4.6 seconds to send a text message, which means your eyes will be off the road for the length of a football field if you are traveling at a speed of 55mph.
- An estimated one million accidents have been caused by distracted drivers.
Even knowing how dangerous it is, if you still find it difficult to resist texting or/and webbing while driving, download an app, there are several on the market, that will turn your phone off while you are driving and thus, will prevent you from engaging in these dangerous, driving distractions.
The original article can be read here.