Join WMBD 31, Fox 43 and CIProud in taking the pledge not to text and drive.

Thousands of people die each year from distracted driving in the United States alone.

W8 2 TXT is meant to do one thing: GET ALL DRIVERS IN OUR VIEWING AREA TO PLEDGE NOT TO TEXT WHILE DRIVING!

Help us put the brakes on texting and driving. Click the Take the Pledge link, fill out the form to pledge not to text while driving, and then follow through on your word. We're all counting on you.

Key Facts and Statistics

• In 2009, more than 5,400 people died in crashes that were reported to involve a distracted driver and about 448,000 people were injured.¹
• Among those killed or injured in these crashes, nearly 1,000 deaths and 24,000 injuries included cell phone use as the major distraction.¹
• The proportion of drivers reportedly distracted at the time of a fatal crash has increased from 7 percent in 2005 to 11 percent in 2009.¹
• When asked whether driving feels safer, less safe, or about the same as it did five years ago, more than 1 in 3 drivers say driving feels less safe today. Distracted driving—cited by 3 out of 10 of these drivers—was the single most common reason given for feeling less safe today.²

• 9% of drivers in the United States reported texting or e-mailing “regularly or fairly often” while driving.³
• 52% of U.S. drivers ages 18-29 reported texting or e-mailing while driving at least once in the last 30 days, and more than a quarter report texting or e-mailing “regularly” or “fairly often” while driving. ³

References

1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic Safety Facts: Distracted Driving 2009. Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, September 2010. Publication no. DOT-HS-811-379. Available from http://www.distraction.gov/ . Accessed June 27, 2011.
2. AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. 2009 Traffic Safety Culture Index. [Cited 2009 July]. Available from URL: http://www.aaafoundation.org/pdf/2009TSCIndexFinalReport.pdf. Accessed June 27, 2011.
3. Porter Novelli. (2010). HealthStyles 2010 Survey. Unpublished raw data. Washington, DC: Adam Burns.