The Dangers of Texting While Driving, from Smile Solutions

May is National Youth Traffic Safety Month and our team at Smile Solutions wanted to take this opportunity to discuss the dangers of texting while driving. According to the U.S. Department of transportation, texting while driving leads to Distracted Driving. Distracted driving is any non-driving activity a person engages in that has the potential to distract him or her from the primary task of driving and increase the risk of crashing. What makes texting while driving particularly dangerous is that it involves all three types of distractions:

Visual — taking your eyes off the road

Manual — taking your hands off the wheel

Cognitive — taking your mind off what you’re doing

Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) The age group with the greatest proportion of distracted drivers was the under-20 age group – 16 percent of all drivers younger than 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving. (NHTSA)

The video below is a documentary about the dangers of texting while driving. It includes interviews with families affected by texting while behind the wheel.



Please practice safe driving!

-Dr. Christopher Chung and team