THURSDAY, Sept. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Distracted driving fatalities caused by cell phone use and texting soared in the space of three years, according to new U.S. government research released Thursday.
Texting alone caused more than 16,000 deaths in car accidents from 2001 to 2007, the researchers estimated. But auto deaths involving cell phones and texting while driving rose 28 percent in just three years, from 4,572 in 2005 to 5,870 in 2008.
I send maybe 2 or 3 texts a month.. if that. It's just not my thing.. maybe a "going to the gym" message to John, and that's about it.
I would imagine that at least half of the 16,000 dead people thought that they had better texting and driving skills than most people, and that it would be okay if they did it, but think other people probably shouldn't. The other half of the 16,000 dead people were just minding their own business when they were killed by somebody who thought that a message couldn't wait a few minutes until it was safe to do it.
Then there are the relatives of the 16,000 dead people who are most affected.. because the dead people are just dead and gone. It's other people who have to deal with the aftermath of someone dying in one of the stupidest ways imaginable.
Regardless of the warnings.. and statistics.. people will continue to do it because they think it's okay for them to do it. After all, they've done it a hundred times before and it was fine. I see them all the time on the road. I think there should be a $1000 fine for texting and driving.
I'm not even going to be answering my cell phone when driving anymore. There is zero point to it.
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