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Accidents related to cell phone use has risen 86 percent in the past decade, according to a recently released report from TrafficTickets.com, which took a county-by-county look at crashes tied to drivers using cell phones while behind the wheel.
In 2009, there were 650 accidents where the driver was using a cell phone or texting while driving. In 2018 there were 1,212 accidents caused by cell phone use, according to the website. It was also noted that last year was the first that texting-while-driving tickets were flat since texting-while-driving became a ticket-able offense in 2009.
Last year was the first year that the number of texting while driving tickets declined, slipping by 1.1 percent to 111,250. Nationwide data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that teens involved in deadly crashes are more likely to be using cell phones than older drivers.
According to a AAA poll, 94 percent of teen drivers acknowledge the dangers of texting and driving, but 35 percent admitted to doing it anyway. Teen drivers are four times more likely than adults to get into car crashes or near-crashes when talking or texting on a cell phone.
In 2018, police across the Empire State wrote nearly 200,000 tickets to drivers who were talking on the phone without a hands-free device, or who were distracted by an electronic device used for calling, texting or apps, GPS, or other uses.
The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year. Nearly 390,000 injuries occur each year from accidents caused by texting while driving. Texting while driving causes a 400 percent increase in time spent with eyes off the road.
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