The New York Times recently published a few articles regarding studies on distracted driving, specifically using cell phones for talking or texting while driving.
• Some studies have shown that driving while using a cell phone is equivalent to driving with a blood alcohol content of .08 – the legal limit and 4 times more likely to cause a crash than undistracted or impaired drivers.
• A study conducted by Harvard indicates that up to 2600 traffic deaths and over 300,000 traffic accidents are caused by the use of cell phones while driving.
• There is no evidence that hands-free devices help the situation at all, so it is best to just not use your phone or text while you drive.
• Alabama is one of the many states that has no bans on the use of cell phones in any way while driving.
• Most of us are guilty of doing this, but the numbers that are coming in are alarming.