Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling at 55mph, that's enough time to cover the length of a football field. (2009, VTTI)
FACT #2
A texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-texting driver. (2009, VTTI)
FACT #3
Of those killed in distracted-driving-related crashes, 995 involved reports of a cell phone as a distraction (18% of fatalities in distraction-related crashes). (2009, NHTSA)
FACT #4
Using a cell phone while driving, whether it's handheld or hands-free, delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. (2009, University of Utah)
FACT #5
20 percent of injury crashes in 2009 involved reports of distracted driving. (2009, NHTSA)
FACT #6
In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in U.S. roadways and an estimated additional 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that were reported to have involved distracted driving. (2009, FARS and GES)
FACT #7
The age group with the greatest proportion of distracted drivers was the under-20 age group. 16% of all drivers younger than 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving. (2009, NHTSA)
FACT #8
Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (2005, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
FACT #9
49% of drivers with cell phones under the age of 35 send or read text messages while driving. (2011, Harris Poll)
FACT #10
60% of drivers use cell phones while driving. (2011, Harris Poll)
FACT #11
57% of drivers rate themselves as better than the average driver. (2011, Harris Poll)
Eighty-two percent of young adult drivers (16-24) have read a standard text message while driving, according to a national survey conducted by the Ad Council. In an effort to educate young drivers about the dangers of texting while driving, Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin, the State Attorneys General and Consumer Protection agencies, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Ad Council are launching a new public service advertising campaign (PSA) nationwide. The campaign includes TV, radio, outdoor and digital PSAs. Additionally, to extend the campaign messages online, new Facebook, Twitter and YouTube social media channels go live today.
NHTSA reports that distracted driving is the number one killer of American teens. Sixteen percent of all drivers younger than twenty involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute ( VTTI ) reports that a texting driver is twenty-three times more likely to get into a crash than a non-texting driver.
During his time in the Rhode Island Legislature, Attorney General Kilmartin was a major proponent of texting while driving laws, successfully sponsoring new laws to ban texting while driving in the Ocean State.
As a former police officer, Attorney General Kilmartin has seen first-hand how deadly distracted driving can be. In fact, while working a construction site with visible heavy equipment he was nearly struck by a driver who didn’t see him because they were on a cell phone. No text message or cell phone call is so important that it is worth risking your safety and that of others.
"Distracted driving is dangerous, and tragically, teen drivers are the most at risk of being involved in a fatal distracted driving crash," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "We hope our new ad campaign will send a strong message to teens that putting away cell phones and other distractions while you're driving is not just commonsense safe behavior, it can save your life."
“Every second matters when you’re behind the wheel,” said Attorney General Rob McKenna, 2012 President of the National Association of Attorneys General. “The nation’s attorneys general join the Ad Council, consumer protection agencies and NHTSA in reminding young drivers to stop texts and stop wrecks. No text, Tweet or Facebook update is worth your life.”
The new television, radio, outdoor and digital PSAs were created pro bono by New York advertising agency The Concept Farm. The PSAs communicate to teens and adults that when you text and drive, you are not multitasking, but essentially driving blind. By t aking your eyes off the road, even for a few seconds, you are making the road less safe for you, your passengers and other drivers. All of the PSAs direct audiences to stoptextsstopwrecks.org , a new campaign website where teens and young adults can find facts about the impact of texting while driving and tips for how to curb the behavior. The website also has an area where individuals can post, and share on Facebook, what they are doing to stop texting and driving.
“For over twenty-five years we have been working with NHTSA to successfully address drunk driving prevention. The term ‘ designated driver’ is now a part of the American vocabulary, but even more importantly sixty-seven percent of all adults have tried to stop someone from drinking and driving,” said Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of the Ad Council. “Research has shown that using a cell phone delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. T hrough our Texting and Driving Prevention campaign we are working towards eradicating the mindset among young adults that texting and driving is a safe activity.”
The Ad Council’s national survey released today also found that seventy-five percent of young adult drivers have sent a standard text message while driving; forty-nine percent have done it multiple times. Half of respondents say that during the past month, they have been a passenger when a friend was texting while driving.
“The Concept Farm is honored to work with the Ad Council and its sponsors on the anti-texting and driving initiative,” says Ray Mendez, Partner and Integration Director at The Concept Farm. “The dangers and consequences of texting and driving are very real and addressing them aggressively is long overdue. Texting and driving has become an epidemic in this country, and we’re passionate about doing our part to change behavior. Saving lives … that’s our goal.”
A social media program kicking off this week will help drive the point home on social networking sites and blogs nationwide. Non-profit partners such as NOYS ( National Organizations for Youth Safety) and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) will help spread the message by reaching out to their members across the country.
Since 2006, the Ad Council has partnered with the State Attorneys General to address reckless driving among teens. To date the campaign has received more than $88.7 million in donated media support. For more than twenty-five years, the Ad Council and NHTSA have worked together on consumer safety PSA campaigns. Per the Ad Council’s model, all of the new PSAs will run and air in advertising time and space that is donated by the media.
The online survey, commissioned by the Ad Council, was conducted in partnership with C + R Research. Research was conducted nationwide from September 15 to 23, 2011. The sample consisted of 1,004 teens and young adults between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four. All respondents were required to hold a U.S. driver’s license, drive at least once per week, and have a mobile phone.
