Studies indicate that the dangers of distracted driving continue to grow. There are three main types of distractions according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT):

·Visual: taking your eyes off the road
·Manual: taking your hands off the wheel
·Cognitive: taking your mind off what you're doing

Although there are a host of driving distractions, including eating and drinking, grooming,
reading, watching videos, and using navigation devices, texting may be the most alarming since it involves all three types of distractions.

Various statistics indicate that drivers acknowledge a shocking amount of distractive activities while driving. Research by the Risk Management Research Council (RMRC) reports that 87.5 percent of survey respondents admit to texting while driving and nearly 94 percent admit to talking on a cell phone without a hands-free device. More than 81 percent have sent or read
e-mails. And teens who text while driving admit to sending an average of 23 texts per month while behind the wheel.

The RMRC reports that a driver is four times more likely to have an accident if he or she is texting while driving. According to the U.S. DOT, the percentage of crashes caused by driver distraction keeps rising, from 10 percent in 2005 to 14 percent in 2007 to 16 percent in 2009. Much of this rise is attributable to more accessible technology such as smart phones. A Nielsen survey indicates that U.S. smartphone penetration has now reached 40 percent of overall cell phone usage.

Regulators are slowly catching up with these trends, with 34 states now having some type of regulatory law on cell phone use while driving. Some laws apply only to teenage drivers, some apply only in school zones, and some apply only to handheld devices.

We recommend  familiarizing yourself and your family with your state’s regulations.

  Shun Those Cell Phones: Tips for use in Vehicles

  More than 20 percent of injury crashes in the United States involve reports of distracted
driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Of those killed in distracted-driving related accidents, 18 percent involved the usage of a cell phone. Another study indicates that using a cell phone while driving, whether it is a hand-held or hands-free device, delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.

  Cell phones, and particularly smart phones, are considered one of the leading driver distractions.   The following tips are offered to motorists with regard to cell phone use in vehicles.

·  You should wait until the car trip is complete before placing a call. Your cell phone's voicemail feature should answer a call while you are driving.

·  Absolutely essential calls should only be performed while stopped. However, it is not wise to pull over on the side of the road where a rear-end collision is possible. Instead, you should pull into a parking lot to perform this task.

·  The phone should be placed where it is easy to see and reach.

·  You should take advantage of speed-dialing capabilities.

·  You should never drive and talk on the cell phone during stressful, emotional, or complex discussions since the risk of an accident is heightened.

·  You should consider using a hands-free cellular phone since some studies indicated that these are safer to use.

· You should never text message while driving.

 Information used with permission from International Risk Management Institute, Inc., Copyright 2011.