Distracted driving has been an issue with motorists since the dawn of the age of the automobile. Early traffic enforcement agencies were concerned with drivers reading their mail, and when windshield wipers came out, people were worried the regular motion would put drivers to sleep or hypnotize them, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Even car radios were expected to create trouble – when car makers began installing them in the 1930s, legislators made moves to ban them for fear that they would cause crashes.

Not surprisingly, as the technological age has provided people with mobile devices that never leave their hands and onboard computers that offer a range of services inside the vehicle, distracted driving has remained a huge problem, especially for young drivers. 

Distracted driving in the modern age
Studies in the 1970s concluded that distracted driving was the cause of 15 percent of all crashes, and that number has remained relatively consistent – 16 percent of all auto crashes in 2012 were attributed to distracted driving, the IIHS reported. While current campaigns are focusing on cellphone usage as the No. 1 distraction for drivers, a number of other factors can distract drivers as well. Of all the distraction-related deaths in 2012, 88 percent were attributed to something other than a cellphone. 

The Erie Insurance company partnered with the IIHS to conduct an analysis of data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System to look closer at driver distractions other than cellphone usage. The researchers found that 62 percent of distracted drivers between 2010 and 2011 reported being generally distracted or lost in thought. Cellphone usage was the next leading cause at 12 percent, followed by rubbernecking – or starting at something outside the vehicle – at 7 percent and distraction by passengers in the vehicle at 5 percent.

But because the numbers are based on police opinions filed in reports from crash scenes and drivers that may have been dishonest about their true distractions, there's a chance many of the "generally distracted" drivers were focusing on something other than their daydreams. While that points to a wide range of potential distracters, statistics presented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration seem to indicate cellphone usage as the likely culprit in many distracted driving accidents, even if it isn't always reported as such.

Distracted driving has caused far more accidents than it should.

Texting and driving causes accidents
According to the NHTSA, people in the U.S. and all its territories were sending an average of 153.3 billion text messages per month as of December 2013. That same year, 3,154 people were killed, and an additional 424,000 were injured, in accidents caused by distracted driving. An average of 660,000 U.S. drivers can be caught using their cellphones while driving at any given moment during the day. Cellphones, more often than not, have become the center of our attention, and this is particularly a huge problem among teenagers who drive.

The NHTSA reported that traffic crashes are the leading cause of teenage deaths, and 10 percent of traffic fatalities in people under 20 years old were the result of distracted driving. While the NHTSA cites numerous reasons for teenage distractions – such as grooming, eating, using navigation systems and even watching videos – texting is by far the worst distraction for anyone. It requires one hand to do the typing, the eyes to guide the hand and read messages, and the brain to focus on the conversation. The average time spent looking at a text conversation while driving is about five seconds, and at 55 mph, that's the equivalent of driving the entire length of a football field blindfolded, the NHTSA reported. The result is a staggering amount of unnecessary deaths and injuries, which prompted a huge campaign by lawmakers and transportation safety groups to try and stop cellphone-related accidents.  

How to stop it
Many legislators have sought to hinder distracted driving by passing laws banning all cellphone use. Forty-five states in the U.S. have banned texting while driving altogether, and 40 of those consider it a primary law – which means officers don't need any other reason to pull drivers over if they are using a cellphone, according to the NHTSA. 

But the IIHS reported that while cellphone bans while driving have dropped the percentage of observed drivers on their cellphones, the number of crashes has not decreased as expected. This may be because drivers who switch to hands-free calling are still too distracted by their conversations, or perhaps bans just encourage people to be more discreet while using their phones behind the wheel. Whatever the case, the automobile industry is taking preventative measures of their own.

Automakers are trying to help fight distracted driving through the use of front crash prevention technology. The IIHS reported that as many as 1.9 million crashes could be prevented in the future if all vehicles were equipped with high-performance prevention systems. But it may take up to 30 years for the auto industry to fully adopt such features as standard on all vehicles – at the rate of distracted driving deaths in 2013, just under 95,000 lives that may be lost in that time. That's a long time to wait for an entire industry to help prevent people from getting into accidents because they weren't paying attention.

The bottom line is that awareness and education will be the best ways to prevent driver distractions, and that falls on people taking responsibility for themselves. The NHTSA and other government agencies are calling on parents and teachers to educate their kids on driver safety. That also means adults need to lead by example, and show teenagers that it is not OK to text and drive or engage in other distracting behaviors while operating a vehicle. 

The National Safety Council has declared April as Districted Driving Awareness Month, and there are plenty of ways to help spread awareness. Check out their website for more information, and remember – the stakes are far too high to get that last message in five minutes before arriving at home – it may cost a life.

And don't forget that avoiding distractions is only one piece of the driving safety puzzle. You can find a great used car loaded with safety features at New Jersey State Auto Auction to help keep your family safe.