We Can Do Better: U.S. is #1 at Texting While Driving

Even hands-free use is distracting

In a survey of drivers across the U.S. and Europe, Americans were found most likely to text while driving. Just short of 69 percent of Americans (aged 18 to 64) admitted to talking on their cellphone, and 31 percent of U.S. drivers admitted they had texted at the wheel. Comparatively, 40 percent of French drivers and 21 percent of British adults had admitted to taking a call while driving at least once in the past 30 days, and 15 percent of drivers in Spain said they had texted behind the wheel. Virtually all experts agree that talking on a cellphone, using one to write texts or emails, and even hands-free use, is enormously distracting. Health experts say people shouldn’t use phones at all while driving. Drivers distracted by cell phones have killed an estimated 16,000 people from 2001 to 2007, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data. (NBC News)

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