Texting while driving is a very bad habit that most teenagers get used to do it. In Carsut’s car driving lessons, we often discourage anyone to send text messages while driving because it leads to a high risk of having car accidents. Distracted driving is dangerous especially when your concentration is not on the driving but something else – composing a text messages, trying to play a song from your car stereo, listen to loud music, trying to style your hair, or simply talking to other passengers. In that case you are driving irresponsibly. Thus, it should be strictly prohibited and not allowed to text and drive although the law in certain countries isn’t saying you can’t compose or send text messages while driving.

Most people go into the “chatting” mood when they are texting each other. If the conversation is about Hawaiian Pizza, you may start imagine about pizza and relatively forget that you are actually driving. What if the conversation is about sexy girls? Will you still be able to drive a car properly? Moreover, with the advance technology we are having today, messages can be reached in seconds. Be it LINE, WhatsApp, email, Facebook chat, IM, or Yahoo Messagers, all these apps in your smartphone will certainly influence your driving when they beep or informing you a message has reached. Let’s look at some statistics and facts that related to texting and driving.

Texting and Driving Statistics

• About 50% of teenager drivers admit that they used to send text messages while driving.
• Roughly 14% of drivers admit that they are surfing the internet while driving. What a dangerous act!
• Approximately half a million car accidents are caused by texting while driving.
• There are pedestrians were killed by young driver due to texting while driving each year.
• The risk of car crash for drivers who text and drive is approximately 20 times higher than non-distracted driving.

Texting and Driving Facts

• Most drivers especially teenagers drive out of their lane while they are texting or playing with their phones.
• When a teenager is over into the phone, he or she is not able to see if any vehicles come close by.
• At the speed of 120mph, if you were distracted by a message and it takes 5 seconds to read it, your car will travel 0.17 miles without a driver.
• Majority people understand that they shouldn’t be texting while driving but they are addicted to it and still do it.

Distracted Driving Story

Here we have got a story told by an American R&B singer Alicia Keys when she shares some of her firsts with PEOPLE contributor Kelly Carter. “The first time I heard my music on the radio… I was driving down the BQE (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) in my first car and I almost out of control.” said Alicia Keys “Oh my God! I’m almost crashing into the orange construction things on the road. I was screaming… by myself, by the way.”

Safety always comes first. Whether texting while driving has been outlawed in your state or your country, you should not do it under any kind of circumstances. You are just look like an idiot by doing so. For more safety driving tips, see also driving in the rain and how to parallel park a car.