Page 58 - LIN.NOVEMBER17WEB

Help make

texting while driving

a primary offense

by Beth Brainard
Executive Director of NPC
F lorida remains #1 in the nation in roadway crashes and fatalities. So

perhaps it isn’t surprising that Florida is also only one of four states
where texting while driving is not a primary offense. The National
Safety Council reports that 64% of all road incidents involve a cell phone;
74% of those incidents involve texting. It is by far the most dangerous of
all “distracted driving” practices.
This year the Florida Legislature has the opportunity to pass
legislation that will make texting a primary offense, which will allow
law enforcement officers to stop motorists who are texting and issue
citations. Those citations will hopefully come with significant fines, like in
California or New York, where the first offense sets a motorist back $850.

HERE ARE SOME CHILLING STATISTICS • 94% of teenagers say they understand the consequences
FROM A REPORT BY THE NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL. of texting and driving. Only a small percentage actually

• Over 2.5 million people in the U.S. are involved in road incidents each admits to doing it.
year. Of these, 1.6 million have cell phones involved – that’s 64%! • 21% of teen drivers involved in fatal crashes each year
• Every year approximately 421,000 people are injured in crashes were using a cell phone at the time of the crash.
involving a driver who was distracted. • Teen drivers are four times more likely than adults to be
• 78% of all distracted drivers are distracted because they are texting. in a car crash when texting while driving.
• Each year over 330,000 crashes caused by texting while driving lead to • 82% of American teenagers own a cell phone and use it
severe injuries. regularly to talk and text.
• Texting and driving is six times more likely to cause an accident than • When teens text while driving they veer off the lane
driving while drunk. 10% of their total drive time.
• It takes an average of three seconds after a driver’s mind is taken off the • 48% of younger teens have been in a car while the driver
road for an accident to occur. was texting. Over 1600 children in that age group are
• Reading a text message while driving distracts a driver for a minimum killed each year because of crashes involving texting.
of five seconds each time.
• In five seconds, a car going 55 mph covers the length of a football field. If you want to be safer on the road, take a moment to
Not good news when the driver is looking at the phone instead of the write your elected officials, Senator Passidomo (passidomo.
road. kathleen.web@flsenate.gov) and Representatives Donalds
• The time a driver spends with eyes off the road increases by (Byron.donalds@myfloridahouse.gov) and Rommel (bob.
approximately 400% if texting. rommel@myfloridahouse.gov), and urge them to support the
• Your chances of a crash for any reason increases by 23% when you text pending legislation to make texting while driving a primary
while driving. offense in Florida.
• 77% of adult drivers say they can easily manage texting while driving.
Really?
The statistics for teenagers are even worse. Parents please keep in mind Beth Brainard is the Executive Director of Naples Pathways
that you are your children’s primary role models. Today’s tweens who Coalition (NPC), a non-profit organization that works to create
observe Mom and Dad texting while driving are tomorrow’s teenagers safe, bikeable, walkable communities in Collier County.
who do the same. For more information or to join, visit the NPC web site at
• 55% of teenage drivers say that they can easily manage www.naplespathways.org or contact Beth directly at
texting while driving, yet 11 die every day as a result. bethbrainard@naplespathways.org.

58 Life in Naples | November 2017