In the six month period between January and June of last year, the United States saw roughly 19,000 people killed in traffic accidents. To put that in perspective, that's well more than half of the total traffic accident fatalities from 2014 (32,675 per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). The only way to describe these figures is alarming.
During the same six month period last year, nearly 2.3 million traffic accidents resulted in "serious injuries," defined by the National Safety Council (NSC) as those that necessitate medical attention.This is up 30 percent from the same six month time frame in 2014.
So naturally, as one would assume, the costs of these accidents have also increased by 24 percent, or $152 billion. Such expenses include medical costs, lost wages, and any property damage that results.
The National Safety Council attributes these crashes to lower gas prices, as well as an improving economy. This makes sense because as more people get jobs, they drive to work. As they get more income, they go out and buy more things. More people on the roads leads to a higher probability that a few of them will run into each other along the way.
However, a recent survey by AT&T tells a different tale of a much more glaring issue. An issue that is entirely preventable.
The cellphone carrier found that 70 percent of respondents use their cellphone while driving. Sixty-one percent of those respondents said that they have either read, responded to, or sent a text message behind the wheel. Others said they use their email, check their social media accounts, even video chat and take selfies while driving. The NSC says those who text and drive are eight times more likely to be involved in a crash and that such actions are the cause of 27 percent of all traffic accidents.