Text Messaging An Increasing Cause of Auto Accidents

Brooks Schuelke

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There have been numerous stories lately emphasizing that text messaging while driving (an increasingly frequent occurrence) significantly increases the risk of auto accidents. For example, one study finds that a person texting while driving is six times more likely to be involved in a car wreck. And one study finds that texting is the number one distraction for teen drivers.

But statistics are often abstract and don't do a good job of driving a point home. However, two recent stories might help emphasize the dangers of texting while driving. First, a December trial highlighted the dangers of being in a car wreck while texting. A Massachusetts man is on trial after killing a teen on a bike while the man was driving and typing a text message. The driver thought he hit a mailbox and didn't realize his SUV had struck the boy unitl he drove back down the street several hours later to go to work.

And at the end of February, Missouri television station KSPR put the studies to the test and asked teen drivers to drive through a closed course while text messaging. The video and responses are priceless.

And if these two concrete stories don't help convince you to not text message while driving, perhaps the story of the driver who was texting and crashed into a patrol car will.