Texting while driving, danger in a split second

It is a fact that out of the top 7 causes of accidents while driving, 3 are related to mobile phones: calling, texting and distraction. These are also the 3 most dangerous cases that cause serious accidents compared to the other causes.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 65% of accidents are caused by drivers losing focus about 3 seconds before the accident. And the leading cause of distraction is phones when drivers make phone calls or text messages.

According to NHTSA research, making and receiving phone calls increases the risk of accidents by 2.8 times, and talking on the phone also increases the risk of accidents by 1.3 times. However, it will be nothing if you text while driving because it increases the risk of accidents up to 23.2 times compared to when concentrating and 6 times when you are "drunk". Research also shows that when using the phone, drivers react 35% slower than normal but can be up to 91% when texting.

If you think that only “young people” text while driving, you are wrong because according to a survey by AT&T in the US, up to 49% of adults text while driving while the figure for young people is 43%. Surprisingly, up to 98% of respondents are aware of the dangers of texting while driving and 40% said that this is a habit that is difficult to break.

According to data from the Center for Risk Analysis at Harvard University - USA, texting while driving kills 3,000 people each year and injures 330,000 people... in the US.

These are only partial statistics, in reality the above figures may be much larger. In 2014 alone, using a phone while driving caused 320,000 accidents in the US. In the UK, up to 25% of pedestrian crashes were caused by drivers using phones. According to estimates, the number of deaths caused by texting while driving worldwide could be as high as tens of thousands each year.

The consequences of using mobile phones and texting while driving have long attracted the attention of the whole world. Since the beginning of the 21st century, South Korea has begun to implement a ban on using mobile phones while driving. This action is currently also banned in most countries in the world, including Vietnam. The fine for texting while driving in some developed countries ranges from 40-200 USD. Drivers may even have to appear in court or pay a fine of up to thousands of USD if they are driving a public vehicle or cause serious consequences.

The dangers of texting while driving have prompted US President Barack Obama to issue a ban on both military and government employees. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has also launched a worldwide “No Texting While Driving” campaign. In the US, AT&T has also been enthusiastic about promoting the ban on texting while driving. Meanwhile, Vinaphone in Vietnam has unintentionally launched an advertising banner “encouraging” people to text while driving on social networks, causing much controversy in the community recently.

Of course, in the campaign calling on drivers not to text while driving, most of the famous manufacturers, from luxury brands such as BMW, Mercedes to popular brands such as Toyota, Honda, Ford, all have specific actions to warn customers. In Vietnam, Auto Hospital is also the first unit to deploy and is quite enthusiastic about promoting and raising awareness of drivers through the campaign "No texting while driving" through social networks, car care and maintenance programs organized by this unit.