Safety Is Good Business
In recent years, driver distraction– which is largely the result of the increasing use of cell phones and texting behind the wheel– is a growing cause of highway crashes. It’s more important than ever for companies to extend their safety culture from the office, shop floor, or warehouse to employees behind the wheel.
Proper training reduces the risk of accidents, public liability, and damages. Training also enhances the overall safety of employees and the communities in which they travel.
Driver Statistics & Global Figures
• 1.3 million road deaths occur every year.
• More than 50 million people are seriously injured every year.
• There are 3,500 deaths each day- which equals roughly 150 every hour or three people every minute.
• Middle and low-income countries are expected to see an increase of 83 percent in traffic deaths by 2020.
• The UN goal is to halve the number of road victims by 2020.
• The cost of road crashes is approximately $3 trillion (USD) every year.
• At least 77 percent of traffic accidents are the result of driver error.
• Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for 16-24 year olds, accounting for 48.5 percent of deaths per year. The next highest cause, homicide, follows at 15.2 percent.
• Nationwide, 43 percent of first-year drivers and 37 percent of second-year drivers are involved in car crashes.
Advanced Driver Training has reduced that rate to 4.6 percent of first-year drivers, as determined in a four-year study.
• Individuals 15 to 20 years old make up 6.7 percent of the total driving population, but are involved in 20 percent of all crashes and 14 percent of motor vehicle deaths.
• In 2013, 3,154 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. This represents a 6.7 percent decrease in the number of fatalities recorded in 2012. Unfortunately, approximately 424,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes, which is an increase of 3,000 from the previous year.
• 10 percent of drivers under the age of 20 who were involved in fatal crashes were distracted at the time of the crash. This age group has the largest proportion of distracted drivers.
• Drivers in their 20s make up 27 percent of the distracted drivers in fatal crashes. (NHTSA)
• At any given daylight moment across the U.S. approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or other electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010. (NOPUS)
• Engaging in visual-manual subtasks (such as reaching for a phone, dialing, and texting) increases the risk of getting into a crash by three times. (VTTI)
• Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling at 55mph, that’s enough time to cover the length of a football field. (2009, VTTI)
• Headset cell phone use is not substantially safer than hand-held use. (VTTI)
•A quarter of teens respond to a text message one or more times every time they drive. 20 percent of teens and 10 percent of parents admit that they have multi-message text conversations while driving.(UMTRI).
