Immediate Release
February 19, 2010
Batavia, Ohio. If you use your cell phone to text while driving, you probably are intexticated. Several recent studies indicate that the behavior significantly increases the risk of a crash; Car and Driver magazine tests found that texting while driving can even be more dangerous than driving while intoxicated! “Teenagers are the largest group that text and you see them everywhere sending messages while driving down the road,” said Martha Enriquez with Clermont Safe Communities. A Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study found that drivers spent nearly five seconds looking at their devices while texting; that is enough time while moving at 55 miles an hour to travel the length of a football field.
Enriquez offers a free presentation to groups across Clermont County interested in learning more about the dangers of texting while driving. “There are over 330,000 distracted driving crashes a year,” said Enriquez. “A lot of people think that drinking and driving is the biggest problem among teens, but after looking at the crash data, I believe it is driving while distracted. Cell phones and texting are at the top of the distractions list.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 89 percent of those surveyed know it is dangerous to drive and text, but 66 percent admit they do it anyway. “We really need to take the lead and show our children by example,” she said. “I recommend talking to kids about the dangers of texting while driving, modeling the right behavior when we are behind the wheel, and showing them one of the Public Service Announcements available online that graphically show what can happen as a result of being intexticated,” she said. “Encourage kids to put their phones in the trunk while driving to avoid the temptation totally.” Over a dozen states currently have laws banning texting while driving.
To contact Martha Enriquez with Clermont Safe Communities about a presentation for your group, school, or organization, call (513) 735-8409.
Pictured above: Martha Enriquez with Clermont Safe Communities reviews new research on the dangers of texting while driving
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For additional information about this or other county news, contact Clermont County Communications Director Kathryn Lehr at (513) 732-7597 or by e-mail, klehr@co.clermont.oh.us.