MADD Vs. MATM

Time for your Prescription

ThaDoctor is back with another house call. This time we are going to be talking about a little more “Touchy” subject. I am going to give you two figures below and I want you to guess which figure matches which picture above.

10,839 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Almost 6,000

These figures involve deaths from driving under the influence and driving while distracted. The larger figure is from 2009 and it involves deaths from driving under the influence. The lower figure is from 2008 and represents deaths from driving while distracted.

Here is a figure for ya. “Almost 50% of all drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 are texting while driving“

Here is the question that I have. Why is there a group out there helping to stop drunk driving (in which there has been a 49% decrease since 1982) but there is no group out there to stop people from using their phones while driving.

Here is another figure for ya. “Using a cell phone use while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. (Source: University of Utah)”.

Let me give you a back story as to why I am writing about this. I drive about 20 minutes on my work commute every day. 1 hour and 40 minutes a week. In that 1 hour and 40 minutes I see at least 4-7 people on there phones either texting or talking. Sometimes (at least once every couple of weeks) I will see someone doing it with a CHILD in the back seat! During that span I have seen ZERO people drinking and driving.

Now I know what you are about to say. “Doctor, you travel in the morning and early evening when people are not drinking as much”. To which I say “Do you hear yourself“?

Of course people are not drinking as much during that time but that is my point. There are more people on the road which means more of an opportunity for accidents to occur during that time which, one could argue, is much more dangerous than drinking and driving when 85% less people are on the roads. (Between 10PM and 4AM)

I am not for drinking and driving. I just don’t understand the double standard. Why is there one group out there standing up against a cause yet allowing another issue become created without even lifting a finger. Here is why, because those same people who are with MADD are the same people who are out there using their phones and texting there peers and being Just As Dangerous As Drunk Drivers.

Here is another figure for you. ”..21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of cell phone usage. This result has been expected to grow as much as 4% every year”.

Now, I did not come here to just create a problem. I came here for a solution. Here it is.

MADD should have a branch created called MATM (Mothers Against Text Messaging). Maybe we can keep this problem from getting worse. Do I think they will? Of course not! They are just as likely to use their phones as anyone else!

One last figure I want to Point out. “The percentage of drivers visibly manipulating hand-held devices while driving was higher among females (0.7%) than among males (0.5%)”.

I am not here to save the world or to be a voice. I am just here to open your eyes and make you think a little bit. The next time you hear about some athlete getting a DUI or you hear a stat about Driving Under the Influence, I want you to take a look at the person to you are sitting with or who is within shouting distance and think that you are more likely to get into an automobile accident with someone like that (a regular person using their phone) as you are with the town “drunk”

This is ThaDoctor urging you to Take two of these and call me in the morning.

Cell Phones, Text Messaging, and Car Accident Information for All Drivers

Talking on a cell phone causes nearly 25% of car accidents.
One-fifth of experienced adult drivers in the United States send text messages while driving.
In 2008 almost 6,000 people were killed and a half-million were injured in crashes related to driver distraction.
At any given time during daylight hours in 2008, more than 800,000 vehicles were driven by someone using a hand-held cell phone.
4 out of every 5 accidents (80%) are attributed to distracted drivers. In contrast, drunk drivers account for roughly 1 out of 3 (33%) of all accidents nationally.
Texting while driving is about 6 times more likely to result in an accident than driving while intoxicated.
A study of dangerous driver behavior released in January 2007 by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. found that of 1,200 surveyed drivers, 73% talk on cell phones while driving. The same 2007 survey found that 19% of motorists say they text message while driving.
In 2005, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 10% of drivers are on handheld or hands free cell phones at any given hour of the day.
A study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Motorists found that motorists who use cell phones while driving are four times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.
In 2002, the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis calculated that 2,600 people die each year as a result of using cellphones while driving. They estimated that another 330,000 are injured.
According to the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, drivers talking on cell phones are 18% slower to react to brake lights. They also take 17% longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked
Of cell phone users that were surveyed, 85% said they use their phones occasionally when driving, 30% use their phones while driving on the highway, and 27% use them during half or more of the trips they take.
84% of cell phone users stated that they believe using a cell phone while driving increases the risk of being in an accident.
The majority of Americans believe that talking on the phone and texting are two of the most dangerous behaviors that occur behind the wheel. Still, as many as 81% of drivers admit to making phone calls while driving.
The number of crashes and near-crashes linked to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening. Dialing is more dangerous but occurs less often than talking or listening.
Studies have found that texting while driving causes a 400% increase in time spent with eyes off the road.

Study Reveals the Dangers of Texting While Driving

The following statistics come from a study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI):

Of all cell phone related tasks – including talking, dialing, or reaching for the phone – texting while driving is the most dangerous.
Teen drivers are four times more likely than adults to get into car crashes or near crash events directly related to talking on a cell phone or texting.
A car driver dialing a cell phone is 2.8 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-distracted driver.
A driver reaching for a cell phone or any other electronic device is 1.4 times more likely to experience a car crash.
A car driver talking on their phone is 1.3 times more likely to get into an accident.
A truck driver texting while driving is 23.2 times more likely to get into an accident than a trucker paying full attention to the road.
A truck driver dialing a cell is 5.9 times more likely to crash.
A trucker reaching for a phone or other device is 6.7 times more likely to experience a truck accident.
For every 6 seconds of drive time, a driver sending or receiving a text message spends 4.6 of those seconds with their eyes off the road. This makes texting the most distracting of all cell phone related tasks.