Quick Stats on Distracted Driving

Total number of cell phones in the United states as of June 2009: 276,610,580(CTIA)

Total number of automobiles in the United States in 2007: 254,400,000 (Department of Transformation)

Percentage of teens in the U.S. with a cell phone: 82 (Pew internet & American Life Project)

Percentage of those with a cell phone who text: 76 (Pew internet & American Life Project)

Average number of texts sent per month by a teenager in the U.S.: 2,899 (Nielsen)

Percentage of drivers 16- to 24-years-old observed visibly manipulating handheld electronic devices while driving: 17 (Pew Internet & American Life Project)

Percentage of teens, aged 16-17, who have texted while behind the wheel: 26 (Pew internet & American Life Project)

Percentage of teens, aged 12-17, who have witnessed someone texting while driving: 46 ( Pew internet & American Life Project)

Percentage by which using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving: 37 (source: Carnegie Mellon)

Percentage of car crashes which involve some form of distracted driving: 85 (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

Approximate number of people who died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted driver: 6,000 (NHTSA)

Approximate number of people injured in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted driver: 500,000 (NHTSA)

Use rate, in percentage, of handled electronic devices while driving among females:1.2 (NHTSA)

Use rate, in percentage, of handled electronics devices while driving among males: 8 (NHTSA)

Percentage of cell phone users who said that they use a hands-free device that cradles the cell phone: 28 (Harris Interactive)

Percentage of drivers in states requiring drivers to use a hands-free device who said they actually do use one: 55 (Harris Interactive)

Number of states that have implemented a ban on texting while driving : 20

Number of states that have implemented a ban on all handheld devices: 8

Fine for first and subsequent offenses for texting while driving in California, respectively: $76; $190

Average number of seconds that texting takes a driver’s focus away from the road : 4.6 (Virginia Tech Transportation Institute)

Number of yards a car will travel in 4.6 seconds at 55 mph: 100 ( Virginia Tech Transportation Institute)

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