Last week, we laid out five key reasons why distracted driving is not just a “teen driver” problem.
Today, I want to dig a little deeper into the stats which prove that adults are a bigger problem than teens when it comes to distracted driving.
To start, let’s take a look at some teen distracted driving facts:
- There are approximately 9.9 million teen drivers in the U.S.
- 26% of them admit that they text while behind the wheel
- These teens make up just 4.9% of the total U.S. driving population
- These same teens caused 16% of fatal distracted driving crashes in 2009 (a disproportionately high percentage).
Next, let’s look at some adult driving facts:
- 199 million (95%) of American drivers are aged 20 or older
- Adults admit to texting while driving just as much as teens do
- So while 2.6 million teens text while driving — at least 53.7 million adults are doing the same thing
- Drivers (regardless of age) who type/text on mobile phones are 23 times more likely to crash than those who don’t.
Having compared the relevant distracted driving facts, it’s easy to see how and why adult distracted drivers pose 20x more risk than teens do.
And if we as a society really want to keep teens safe while they’re on the road – we have to recognize the danger by all the adult distracted drivers with whom they share the roads.
Good article. One might say that kids of all ages need to act more responsibly.
Soon, I will link to this article at my blog, where I recently wrote new lyrics (“Dexter Texter”) to an old tune (Davy Crockett), and share links to some cool, short PSA’s that feature Dr Phil, and “Dexter the Dead Texter.” Please, visit me at…
http://thegridlocksmith.blogspot.com/2011/12/gotta-sing-loud.html
And let’s not forget who our Teen Drivers were watching while they were growing up and getting prepared to become licensed drivers – all of us adults! And all of our bad habits, repeated over time in front of them, were more instructional than telling them not to roll through a stop sign, not to speed up to run a yellow light, that 5 or 10 mph over the posted limit is OK, and so on.
Couldn’t agree more, and your article provides very clear evidence.
I occassionally observe the passing traffic out the window at my morning coffee stop, and I am stunned at how many people (mostly adults, kids are in school) are doing something other than focussing on driving (mostly phone related). I would loosely guess that the number is 2 out of 3 people that are driving distracted…so your numbers don’t surprise me, and I expect as I assume you do, that the actual numbers are actually higher. It has become politically incorrect to drive whilst texting, but people still do it, they are just savvy enough to admit to it less.
The most disturbing numbers that you listed, were the bottom line numbers:
“So while 2.6 million teens text while driving — at least 53.7 million adults are doing the same thing.” We will certainly continue on our mission at clubHANDSUP, to try and reduce these numbers through aggressive and consistent education. We also expect that fairly soon the tides will change, and people will begin to get very angry at this selfish and reckless public nuisance. It’s just inexcusable and indefensable in every way. I really can’t imagine and don’t want to think about what I would do if someone close to me was killed by someone who was sending a meaningless text while driving. I can’t dwell on it, because it makes my blood boil and puts me in a rage. The phone is a powerful device and we as a society have grabbed on tightly to this incredible communication technology, so it’s a really tough habit to shake, but it’s so important that we do. If we don’t attack this pretty aggressively, things are going to get worse rather than better in the next couple years. A great number of people are now completely addicted to these devices that cause serious harm and death when used while driving. I think it’s reasonable to be nervous driving down the streets of our own towns, knowing that so many people are now looking at their phones. It just has to change.
Thanks ZOOMSAFER for shining this bright light on this critical and life threatening epidemic.
John D. Hand (clubHANDSUP Founder, Boston, MA)