The Problem

The mobile phone has become a central part of our daily life. There are over 270 million subscribers in the U.S. – 87% of the total United States population. There are over 575 million in the 29 EU states in our territory – 140% of the population!

In the past, drunk driving was a leading cause of traffic accidents in the United States, Europe and in countries across the globe. Today, there is an epidemic of deaths and injuries related to driving while texting.

To reduce the cases of drunk drivers operating their cars, car manufacturers have developed devices which prohibit a driver from starting his or her car if the person is under the influence of alcohol. Aside from these devices, communities around the world have been educated on the risks of drunk driving. These efforts have resulted in reducing the number of traffic accidents caused by drunk driving. Lately though, a new risk to traffic safety has shown itself with the advent of personal communication technology.

Unfortunately, many people are Driving While Texting (DWT). A recently released study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) said that a driver’s risk of collision is 23 times greater when they are texting. This distracted driving has been the cause of many accidents and many deaths.

Distracted while driving kills nearly 6,000 people every year in the U.S. alone with estimates in Europe in excess of that. We are all at risk of being injured by a distracted driver.

It is estimated in Europe, mobile phone related accidents cost more than $25 billion each year. As mobile phone use increases among all demographics the problem will only get worse.

Smartphones which are capable a texting, browsing the internet, emailing and playing videos will see a 500% growth in sales from 2008 to 2013. In the last 12 months alone, the number of people watching video on their mobile device has increased 70%. An even more concerning trend is that the average teenager is texting over 1,900 times every month. These are our adults of tomorrow.

In the US VTTI is warning of a potential highway epidemic -

“Texting should be banned in moving vehicles for all drivers. … this mobile phone task has the potential to create a true crash epidemic if texting type tasks continue to grow in popularity and the generation of frequent text message senders reach driving age in large numbers. “

The U.S. Government is extremely concerned. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation which makes Driving While Texting illegal.

“The senate introduced a bill today that would essentially force the remaining states to pass a similar bill—despite there being no good way to enforce such a ban.” - NY Times, July 29, 2009.

Sen. Charles Schumer, Dem (NY), endorsed the bill that would force each state’s highway
department to institute a ban on texting within two years, or lose 25% of their federal funding each year, which is enough to cripple a highway department if it is not enforced. The states are concerned since it appears it will be extremely difficult to enforce this law. The senator’s bill is known as the ALERT Drivers Act.

The Governors Highway Safety Association has enacted a new policy encouraging every state to ban texting behind the wheel for all drivers. Again enforcement of the law is a major issue.

In a recent AAA study, 95 percent thought texting while driving was unacceptable, even though 18 percent said that they recently texted and drove. Alarmingly, half of the drivers aged 16-24 said they routinely texted while driving.