The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year. Nearly 330,000 injuries occur each year from accidents caused by texting while driving. One out of every four car accidents in the United States is caused by texting and driving.
In the state of Tennessee, Safety and Homeland Security statistics reflect 24,754 traffic accidents due to distracted drivers during the year 2016. There have already been 5,447 reported accidents for January through March of 2017.
When you text and drive:
- It makes us 23 times more likely to crash.
- It takes your eyes off the road on average of five seconds at a time. At 55 mph, that’s like driving the length of a football field completely blind.
- It results in car crashes that kill an average of 11 teens each day.
Caleb Ward and Joseph West, members of the Gordonsville High School FCCLA Chapter, are conducting a project to help bring awareness of texting while driving. With the supportive help of Smith County Mayor Michael Nesbitt and GHS Principal Ronnie Scudder, road signs were designed, made and placed throughout various places in the county.
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Pictured left to right: Joseph West, Caleb Ward, Ronnie Scudder.
