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General Cell Phone and Driving Statistics

Texting while driving makes a driver 23x more likely to crash. Drivers talking on a cell phone are 4x more likely to have a car accident. Talking on a cell phone while driving can make a young driver's reaction time as slow as that of a 70 year old. Answering a text takes away your attention for about five seconds. That is enough time to travel the length of a football field. Studies have found that texting while driving causes a 400% increase in time spent with eyes off the road. 94% of drivers support bans on texting while driving. 74% of drivers support bans on hand-held cell phone use.

Teen Driver Cell Phone Statistics

15- to 19-year-olds make up the largest proportion of distracted drivers. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, texting while driving kills 11 teens each day. In a AAA poll, 94% of teens called texting and driving a serious threat, but 35% admitted to doing it anyway. 11% of drivers ages 15 – 19 involved in fatal crashes were reported to be distracted. 21% of distracted teen drivers involved in fatal accidents were distracted by cell phones. Teen drivers are 4x more likely than adults to get into car crashes or near-crashes when talking or texting on a cell phone. A teen driver riding with one other passenger doubles the risk of being involved in a fatal car crash. With two or more passengers, a fatal accident is 5x as likely. 46% of drivers under 18 admit to texting while driving. Over 60% of American teens admit to risky driving, and nearly half of those admit to texting behind the wheel.

2012 Cell Phone and Driving Statistics

In 2012, 3,328 people were killed in distraction-related crashes. About 421,000 people were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver. In 2012, 11% of drivers under age 20 involved in fatal accidents were reported to be distracted at the time of the crash. One-fourth of teenagers respond to at least one text message every time they drive and 20% of teens and 10% of parents report having multi-message text conversations while driving.

2012 National Survey on Distracted Driving Attitudes and Behaviors

Nearly half (48%) of drivers admit to answering their cell phone while driving. Of those who answer their phones while driving, 58% of drivers continue to drive while talking on the phone. In the survey, 24% of drivers reported that they are willing to make a phone call while driving. One in 10 drivers surveyed said that, at least sometimes, they send text messages or emails while driving. Of the drivers surveyed, 14% said they read text messages or emails while driving. A majority of respondents support laws that ban talking on cell phones, texting, or emailing while driving.

2012 Texting Pedestrian Study

Researchers from the University of Washington monitored 20 of Seattle's busiest intersections and observed the following:

Pedestrians who text are four times less likely to look before crossing the street, cross in crosswalks, or obey traffic signals. They also found that texting pedestrians take an average of two seconds longer to cross the street.