Phone Addiction

Do you want to guess how many times you pull out your smartphone each day? The number is startling. The average person checks their phone 80 times per day, often to check those little red notifications on social media. Our addiction to the rectangle in our pockets is having serious effects on our brain, from reducing our attention span to spiking our blood pressure and even diminishing our intelligence, reported The New York Times. • Are you addicted to your phone?

With this weeks Safety Flash Card dealing with
“How to Cross the Street Safely” here’s some stats we all should be  aware of:

General Cell Phone Statistics

Note: These are the most recent statistics available

• The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year.
• Nearly 330,000 injuries occur each year from accidents caused by texting while driving.
• 1 out of every 4 car accidents in the United States is caused by texting and driving.
• Texting while driving is 6x more likely to cause an accident than driving drunk.
• Answering a text takes away your attention for about five seconds. Traveling at 55 mph, that’s enough time to travel the length of a football field.
• Texting while driving causes a 400% increase in time spent with eyes off the road.
• Of all cell phone related tasks, texting is by far the most dangerous activity.
• 94% of drivers support a ban on texting while driving.
• 74% of drivers support a ban on hand-held cell phone use.

Teen Driver Cell Phone Statistics

• 11 teens die every day as a result of texting while driving.
• 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.
• Teen drivers are 4x more likely than adults to get into car crashes or near-crashes when talking or texting on a cell phone.
• A teen driver with only one additional passenger doubles the risk of getting into a fatal car accident. With two or more passengers, they are 5x as likely