As part of its Plymouth Safe Driving campaign, Massachusetts-based King Collision Centers is sharing text-messaging statistics with area teens and parents and providing a safe driving contract for families to share. King Collision notes that the average American teen sends 1,742 texts per month, a habit that can be dangerous behind the wheel.
Sponsored by King Collision Centers, Commerce Insurance, the Plymouth Public Schools department and Plymouth Police Department, the Plymouth Safe Driving campaign is a multi-pronged effort to promoting safe driving habits for Plymouth North and Plymouth South high schools. The campaign’s student-parent contract provide a contract for young drivers to sign with their parents agreeing to safe driving practices.
“Our student-parent contract includes a ‘Driving Privileges’ section where parents can prohibit certain things like texting and cell phone use, at least while driving,” said Bruce King, owner of King Collision Centers. “It may seem like a common sense thing – don’t text while you drive – but the numbers bear out that many drivers are texting and driving and the accident statistics related to that are just as staggering.”
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, more than half a million people were injured and 6,000 killed last year in motor vehicle accidents involving a driver who was distracted while using a cell phone or texting device.
More specific to young drivers, King Collision noted that the legal site www.WhoCanISue.com http://www.whocanisue.com/ reports:
• 46% of teens admitted to text messaging while driving in 2008; up from 13% in 2006;
• 32% of young adults admit to sending text messages while driving; and
• 43 % of young adults read text messages while driving.
The U.S. National Safety Council estimates that 100 people die every day in traffic accidents and that 25 percent of those are caused by the use of cell phone and texting devices.
"While we created this campaign to promote safe driving among high school students, it’s quite clear that drivers young and old need to stop texting while driving,” said King. “Hopefully, with pending legislation in many states and grassroots awareness campaigns like Oprah’s, ours and others, we can get the word out that texting and driving – whether you’re sending or receiving – never mix.”
More information:
• Body Shop’s T-Shirts Tell Drivers to Keep Hands on the Wheel, off the Cell Phone
