AMES, Iowa – April 9, 2013 – Distracted driving endangers motor vehicle drivers, their passengers and pedestrians. Learn more about the consequences by viewing the real-life stories of Iowans whose lives were changed forever due to the carelessness of a distracted driver or as a result of not buckling up. Log on to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s website at www.iowadot.gov/CurbitClickit/
Text messaging while driving is not only illegal; it is one of the most dangerous distractions. It requires drivers to take their hands off the wheel, eyes off the road and mind off the task of driving.
Here are a few more valuable facts about the risks of using mobile communication devices while driving.
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Teen drivers are more likely than other age groups to be involved in a fatal crash where distraction is reported.
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Of the American teens surveyed, 40 percent say they have been in a car when the driver used a mobile phone in a way that put people in danger.
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Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.
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Text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted.
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Sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, which is equivalent to driving (at 55 mph) the length of an entire football field, blind.
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Headset mobile phone use is not substantially safer than hand-held use.
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Using a mobile phone while driving – whether it’s hand-held or hands-free – delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
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Driving while using a mobile phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent.
