Take a seat, this number might astonish you. According to a recent study, teenagers send about 3,000 texts a month! What’s even more shocking is that’s an average. That means some teenagers are sending four, five, or even six thousand text messages a month. As stated in the study, that’s over six texts per waking hour. Even though that’s not a lot, equaling one every ten minutes, phone usage is banned in most high schools. Taking that into account, it averages out to about twelve an hour.
With the new law that was just passed, texting is illegal to do while driving. Texting while driving can generate some scary statistics: cell phone use accounts for 2,600 vehicle fatalities and 300,000 collisions annually. These numbers from 2007 undoubtedly got worse since smart phones and phone use in general has become more common in the last three years. Most of these users are teenagers. Teens are already feared by most experienced drivers, let alone teenagers that have to send twelve texts an hour. Even if they are not tracking the amount of texts sent each hour (which they aren’t), teenagers love the instant nature of texts and technology that it is hard to resist the temptation to text back right away.
Awareness might not be the only device needed to prevent teenagers from texting while driving. There is a new app for phones that manages incoming calls and messages to prevent distracted driving. iZUP is available and companies like Plymouth Rock are offering discounts for using this app and giving it free of charge.
At Encharter Insurance, we urge you to not text and drive and look into iZUP. Not only is texting now illegal but, it puts you and everyone else on the road at risk. Even if you do not text and drive, there are still other drivers and other risks that come with driving, especially with the weather we have here in New England. Call your local Encharter Insurance agent today (888-865-1244) to feel confident about the coverage that your MA Auto Insurance is providing you. You can also visit us at www.encharter.com, our Facebook page or our Twitter page 24 hrs a day!
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