Distracted Driving: A Growing Cause of Preventable Trauma

Distracted driving extends well beyond texting, although texting is particularly dangerous. Texting behind the wheel exposes everyone around you to greater risk of critical injury and makes you or your teen driver 23 times more likely to cause a vehicle crash. But, anything that keeps your mind, your eyes or your hands off the wheel can be just as distracting. Splitting your attention to eat, apply makeup or use a cell phone can be very dangerous.

Consider these statistics:

• Reading a text takes your eyes off the road for nearly 5 seconds.
• Using a phone to talk or text while driving is the same as driving with a .08 blood alcohol level, the equivalent of driving drunk in most states.
• You are four times more likely to crash if you even talk on the phone while driving.

Texting while driving is the primary cause of distracted driving crashes.

Our “Drive Now. Text L8R.” Program

The trauma team at University Health encourages you, your teens and all drivers to put the phone down when the engine starts up. As part of our ongoing commitment to injury prevention, we created the “Drive Now. Text L8R.” campaign. This program includes an interactive presentation and an experiential opportunity, either using a simulator or on-campus driving course. We provide programs through an assembly or classroom presentation.

Call our Adult and Pediatric Injury Prevention Department at 210-358-4295 to schedule a “Drive Now. Text L8R.” presentation at your school or business today.

Eyes on the Road, Hands on the Wheel

San Antonio’s hands-free ordinance prohibits drivers from holding cell phones. You may now only make or accept calls by speaker, headphones or through a Bluetooth device.