In 2014, there were 322 fatalities on Iowa roads. Four of those fatalities were clearly linked to distracted driving, as were 324 injuries. These numbers don’t tell the whole story though. Many, if not most, of the 207 lane-departure fatalities —that’s 64-percent of all fatalities—also may have been the result of distracted driving.
Distracted driving includes anything that takes your focus from driving. Texting is one of the most common causes and one of the most dangerous; it requires visual, manual and cognitive attention to be diverted from the road.
According to the National Safety Council, just talking on the phone while driving uses two cognitive tasks that involve different areas of the brain. Instead of processing both tasks simultaneously, the brain rapidly switches between the two activities, which can be dangerous.
Everyone who has chosen to text and drive has likely drifted into another lane. But because many drivers have avoided crashing, they continue to drive distracted and believe it isn’t a problem. If you drive distracted, you could change your life and the lives of others in a matter of seconds—with deadly consequences.