Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system—anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving.
Texting is the most alarming distraction. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that's like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.
You cannot drive safely unless the task of driving has your full attention. Any non-driving activity you engage in is a potential distraction and increases your risk of crashing.
Teen Driver Cell Phone Statistics:
According to a AAA poll, 94% of teen drivers acknowledge the dangers of texting and driving but 35% admitted to doing it anyway. 21% of teen drivers involved in fatal accidents were distracted by their cell phones.
In 2015, 3,477 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver.
In 2015, 391,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |
Distracted Driving Deaths | 3,092 | 3,331 | 3,328 | 3,154 | 3,179 | 3,477 |
All Motor Vehicle Deaths | 32,999 | 32,479 | 33,782 | 32,894 | 32,744 | 35,092 |
Distracted Driving Injuries | 416,000 | 387,000 | 421,000 | 424,000 | 431,000 | 391,000 |
All Motor Vehicle Injuries | 2,239,000 | 2,217,000 | 2,362,000 | 2,313,000 | 2,338,000 | 2,443,000 |
Some Statistics:
In Nebraska in 2015, of the 160 traffic crashes involving cell phone distractions 43 were teen drivers and 117 were other drivers.Over the last 10 years, on average, Nebraska drivers aged 15-19 have been involved in 43 cell phone distraction crashes per year. On average, Nebraska has had more than 3,600 distracted driving crashes per year over the last 10 years.
Distractions now join alcohol and speeding as leading factors in fatal and serious injury crashes. Distracted driving accounted for approximately 10% of the total traffic crashes in Nebraska for 2015. Over the last three years, the number of Nebraska drivers involved in distracted driving crashes has increased by nearly 20%. There were 4,402 Nebraska drivers involved in distracted driving crashes in 2015 the highest number in the last 10 years.
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services