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Texting and Driving

NevertextanddriveAndrewGGordonIncautoinsuranceCell phones are pretty ubiquitous nowadays, but they aren't meant to be used in a car. Texting while driving makes you 27 times more likely to be in an accident. There have been repeated studies that show that taking your eyes off the road for even 2 seconds makes you far more likely to rear end other vehicles, drift off the road, and hit pedestrians. 

Texting and driving is a prime example of distracted driving, but anything on your phone can wait until you reach your destination. I know kids in my high school who have been in car accidents due to Snapchatting (taking pictures and videos of yourself that only last a few seconds when you send them to others). The other day in my school we had a lesson on distracted driving, and the videos we watched about people who had died due to distracted driving were haunting.

Distracted driving isn't just limited to your cell phone. You shouldn't be doing anything but focusing on the road while driving. These means no applying makeup, eating food, changing CDs or finding a song on your phone, or any other activity, even if you're at a stop light. 

Distracted driving puts both yourself and everyone around you at risk, including your passengers, pedestrians, pet, and other drivers (not to mention texting while driving is illegal!). A short text or a silly picture is not worth putting yourself in danger. This is true even on the highway. Some may be more tempted to use their cell phones on the highways because the roads are fairly straight, or people may get bored in traffic. However, at the speeds your vehicle travels on the highway (50+), it takes hundreds of feet for your car to stop from the moment your foot hits the brakes. At 45 mph, looking away from the road for five seconds means that you traveled a football field in those five seconds while driving essentially blind.

Even if you're over 18 and it's legal for you to talk on the phone while driving, I still recommend against it. Driving with one hand on the wheel puts you in half the control you would have otherwise. Overall, the risks of distracted driving far outweigh any boredom or need to socialize you may be feeling. Whatever it is, it can wait.

Contact us with any auto insurance questions and for teen driving advice, and browse our website for more car safety tips. 

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