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Statistics
(5) Basic Facts About Teen Crashes (4) Cell Phone Use (2) Comprehensive Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) (1) Drowsy Driving/Fatigue (1) Emotions (1) Hazard Detection (3) Impaired Driving (2) Inexperience (6) Miles to Go (1) Nighttime Driving (4) Other Risk Factors (4) Parental Involvement (4) Passengers as Deadly Distractions - Peers and Older Teen Passengers (1) Risk to Child Passengers From Teen Driver (2) Seat Belt Use (2) Speeding (1) Teens With Special Needs (9) Teen Driver Background

Cell Phone Use

General Statistics

  • A third of teens self-report texting or emailing while driving (in the prior month), a proven deadly distraction for all drivers and especially teen drivers.1
  • Nearly 70 percent of Americans ages 18 to 64 recently chatted on their phones while driving, and about 30 percent of this group sent text messages while behind the wheel.2 
  • Cell phone use behind the wheel reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent.3
  • Crash risk is four times higher when a driver uses a cell phone, whether or not it’s hands-free.4
  • A typical teen sends and receives about 100 text messages a day.5
  • Some activities—such as texting—take the driver’s attention away from driving more frequently and for longer periods than other distractionsy.6

 previous

Source:

  1. 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  2. Mobile Device Use While Driving --  United States and Seven European Countries, 2011. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March 15, 2013. Accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6210a1.htm.  
  3. Just MA, Keller TA, Cynkar JA.  A Decrease in Brain Activation Associated With Driving When Listening to Someone Speak.  Brain Research. 2008; 1205:70-80.
  4. Redelmeier DA, Tibshirani RJ. Association Between Cellular-Telephone Calls and Motor Vehicle Collisions. The New England Journal of Medicine. February 13, 1997; 336(7).
  5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Distracted Driving in the United States and Europe. June 7, 2012. Accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/Features/dsDistractedDriving/.
  6. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Statistics and Facts about Distracted Driving.   Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2011. 
Home > I Am A Teen > General Statistics - Cell Phone Use > Last Update: Tuesday, Mar 26, 2013 2:33 PM
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