Posted: 5/10/2016
Behind-the-wheel activities could have fatal results
If you want an “OMG” moment, take a minute to read the following statistics. According to Portio Research, people worldwide will send 8.3 trillion text messages in just this year alone. That’s almost 23 billion messages per day, or approximately 16 million messages per minute. And, research from Connect Mogul, states that 90 percent of all text messages are read in less than three minutes.
With more than 100,000 traffic crashes in Texas each year involving distracted driving, providers with the Rees-Jones Trauma Center at Parkland Memorial Hospital remind drivers that using a mobile phone when behind the wheel is a risky habit they should break. In 2015, 38 percent of Texas drivers admitted to talking on their mobile phones while driving at least some of the time, according to a survey conducted by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, and more than one-fifth (21.2 percent) of drivers said they read or send text messages or emails when behind the wheel.
Distracted driving is any activity that could divert a person’s attention away from the primary task of driving. All distractions endanger the driver, passengers and bystander’s safety. While mobile phone use is the most recognizable driving distraction, the Texas Department of Transportation also urges drivers to avoid the following high-risk behind-the-wheel activities:
- Posting to social media
- Checking email
- Eating
- Grooming
- Reading
- Programming a navigation system
- Watching a video
- Adjusting the radio, CD player or MP3 player
At Parkland where more than 50 percent of Dallas County’s trauma patients are treated, it is impossible to calculate how many distracted drivers are responsible for the injuries related to motor-vehicle-related crashes. May is designated as Trauma Awareness Month, and Parkland’s trauma team is reminding everyone of the importance of preventing accidents before it’s too late.
There are three main types of distractions: visual – taking your eyes off the road; manual – taking your hands off the wheel; and cognitive – taking your mind off what you are doing.
As a trauma surgeon and Medical Director of the Rees-Jones Trauma Center at Parkland and Assistant Professor of Surgery at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Alexander Eastman, MD has witnessed first-hand the results of a distracted driver.
“In just that split second, lives can be changed forever or even lost,” Dr. Eastman said, noting that a majority of the crashes may have been prevented. “What is alarming is that sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 5 seconds, the equivalent at 55 miles per hour of driving the length of an entire football field blind. People always think that nothing is going to happen to them.”
According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), 10 percent of all drivers 15 to 19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted at the time of the crashes. The percentage of driver’s text-messaging or visibly using handheld devices increased from 1.7 percent in 2013 to 2.2 percent in 2014. Since 2007, young drivers (age 16 to 24) have been observed using electronic devices at higher rates than older drivers.
“Anything that draws attention away from driving is dangerous,” Dr. Eastman said. “There isn’t anything more important than your life or that of someone else. It’s not worth dying because of a phone call or text.”
Learn more about the Rees-Jones Trauma Center at Parkland.