• 24
  • December
    2012

Many Texans are traveling by car to get home for the holidays. That includes on Christmas Eve. As you go, remember to avoid dangerous behavior behind the wheel, like texting while driving and other forms of distraction.

During every holiday season, there are more people on the road, which means more accidents. You do not want to be one of those drivers who cause one.

According to Distraction.gov, an official government website created and maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: "The best way to end distracted driving is to educate all Americans about the danger it poses."

Here are a handful of facts about distracted driving that might make you think twice about sending a text message while driving:

  • More than 3,000 people lost their lives due to distracted driving crashes in 2010
  • More than 400,000 people were injured for the same reason that year
  • 196 billion text messages were sent in the month of June alone in 2011 - it's a good bet that many of these were sent or read while someone was driving
  • If you pay attention to the road, you're 23 times less likely to get into a car wreck than if you'd been texting
  • You travel the length of a whole football field when you take your eyes off the road to send or receive a text message

This year, make the holidays brighter for you and your loved ones by staying safe behind the wheel.

Source: What is Distracted Driving?