The good news: teen smoking is down. In fact, it is at a 22 year low. The bad news: texting while driving is on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently released a new report which shows that 41.4% of students admit to texting and emailing while driving a car. Two years ago, the number was 32%.
Car crashes remain the number one cause of death for teenagers. Texting or emailing while driving and inexperience can make a deadly combination. According to research, drivers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash than a driver who is undistracted.
Through education, as a society, we have made some headway on the risks of smoking. And now, we must turn our focus on distracted driving. Here are some tips to help avoid this dangerous behavior:
1. Put your phone where you can no reach it while you are driving;
2. Turn notifications off so you are not tempted to respond to an incoming message;
3. If you must respond to a text, ask a passenger to do it for you or pull over to a spot of safety;
4. Talk to your teens about the risks and set a good example by not using your phone while driving;
5. Use an app to auto-respond for you or to disable your phone while driving.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an car accident and would like to discuss your case with one of our award-winning lawyers, give us a call at 615-742-4880 or toll-free at 866-812-8787 for a no-cost, no-obligation consultation. We handle all car accident cases on a contingency basis so we only get paid if we recover money for you.
By the way, smoking is still a bad idea.