Kristin Day, APNP, ThedaCare Physicians-Pediatrics in Appleton, lists some great reminders about distracted driving:
- Texting and driving is the most common cause of accidents in ages 15-19, surpassing drunk driving.
- Distracted driving (texting, cell phone use, eating, drinking) is the leading cause of car accidents in the US. 25% are due to sending or reading a text.
- 15% of kids have witnessed their parents sending or reading texts while driving (obviously with their kids in the car!)
- It takes approximately 5 seconds to send or read a text, which means if you are going 55 mph, your eyes are off the road for about the length of a football field!
- A 20 yo using their cell phone while driving has equal reaction time to a 70 year old!
- A study done at Washington State University in young drivers showed if you show young drivers graphic , horrific consequences (horrible accidents, etc) of texting while driving, they do it much less often. However, 25% of young people said they’d still do it no matter what!
Bottom line—Don’t text while driving—send a text, read a text, etc. And as adults, we need to set the example for kids! The consequences are just too high!
