People Text And Drive Despite Knowing Dangers [SURVEY]

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A recent survey shows that most people know the dangers of texting and driving. Surprisingly, the survey also shows that many people do it anyway. The survey, which was conducted by AT&T, shows 98% of drivers who own cellphones understand the serious dangers of texting while driving, yet two-thirds of those surveyed claimed they read text messages while waiting for a red light. Over a quarter of those surveyed even admitted to sending texts while driving.

Top reasons why people text and drive

The majority who those who admitted to texting (43%) on the road claimed they do it to stay in touch with friends and family. A third of texters admitted it was out of habit. Other reasons for texting and driving included 28% fear missing out on something important, over a quarter think their driving performance isn’t affected by texting, and 6% think they are addicted to texting.

14% of users claim to feel anxious when someone doesn’t text them back and 17% feel satisfaction when reading or responding to a text message.

An advocate against texting and driving speaks up

One advocate against texting and driving reminds people not to make the same mistake he did. Back in 2006, Reggie Shaw killed two people when texting and driving. He explained, “It’s something I struggle with every day. I know that I need to go out and talk to others about it. I don’t want others to make the same mistake I did. Being on my phone when I drove was something I did all the time. It was just driving to me. I guess you’d call it ignorance but I never understood that it was dangerous. How could me being on the phone cause a car accident?”

Now he keeps his phone off while driving.

This AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) study was conducted in May and included cell phone owners ranging from ages 16 to 65. The survey was part of the anti texting-and-driving campaign. The survey was designed by David Greenfield, the founder of The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction.

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