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Courtesy of http://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/distracted-driving

Activities that take drivers’ attention off the road, including talking or texting on cellphones, eating, conversing with passengers and other distractions, are a major safety threat. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gauges distracted driving by collecting data on distraction-affected crashes, which focuses on distractions that are most likely to affect crash involvement such as dialing a cellphone or texting and being distracted by another person or an outside event. In 2013, 3,154 people were killed in distraction-affected crashes, and 424,000 people were injured. There were 2,910 distraction-affected fatal crashes, accounting for 10 percent of all fatal crashes in the nation, 18 percent of injury crashes and 16 percent of all motor vehicle crashes in 2013.

FATAL CRASHES AFFECTED BY DISTRACTED DRIVERS, 2013

Crashes Drivers Fatalities Total fatal crashes 30,057 44,574 32,719 Distracted-affected fatal crashes Number 2,910 2,959 3,154 Percent of total fatal crashes 10% 7% 10% Cellphone in use in distracted-affected fatal crashes Number 411 427 445 Percent of fatal distracted-affected crashes 14% 14% 14%

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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NHTSA says that in 2013, 14 percent of distraction-affected crashes occurred while a cell phone was in use. The chart below shows driver hand-held phone use by age.