The Facts
Drivers who talk on a mobile phone are 4 times more likely to be involved in a serious accident. It has been found that individuals have a higher incident of an accident within 10 minutes of initiating a cell phone conversation. Nearly 80% of crashes and 65% of near crashes involve some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event.
Hands Free Devices
The use of a hands-free cell phone does not reduce the chance of having an accident. It's the conversation and not the device that distracts the driver. Just listening to someone talk on the cell phone while you are driving is going to reduce the quality of your driving performance.
Inattention Blindness
Talking on a cell phone while driving causes what is now called "inattention blindness." The driver looks but does not always see things that are there such as pedestrians, stop signs, traffic signals, or other vehicles. The analogy has been made that drivers talking on cell phones are as prone to accidents as those who drive drunk.
Driving and road conditions require your full attention. Can you risk your safety and the safety of others for a cell phone conversation?
Please drive safe and remember to buckle up.
Texting
According to textfreedriving.org, you are 23 times more likely to be in an accident if texting while driving compared to driving while not distracted. Learn more about this type of distracted driving
here.