Original post authored by Jones-Wilson Insurance and shared with their permission. 

Somewhere there is a 17-year-old student who will never see senior prom, a college student who will never see graduation and a young adult that will never have the opportunity to have children. Why? Texting while driving.

It’s an epidemic, and while we all say we will never do it, some of us still can’t wait a few minutes to look down at our phones. We’ve all heard the sad stories and warnings, but maybe these staggering statistics can create a new resolve:

• According to EndDD.org, “Sending or receiving a text message distracts a driver for about five seconds; at highway speeds, that represents a distance of about 300 feet in which the car is essentially out of human control, driving itself.”
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that driver distraction is the cause of about one-fifth of all fatal crashes.
• Nearly half of all U.S. high school students aged 16 years or older text or email while driving.
• Over 90 percent of frequent drivers in an AT&T-sponsored survey said they know texting and driving is dangerous but that doesn’t stop them from doing it.
• 77 percent of young adults are very or somewhat confident that they can safely text while driving; 55 percent of young adult drivers claim it’s easy to text while they drive.

Heard enough? These shocking statistics will unfortunately keep getting worse with time. When will it stop? What can we do?

Motivate others to wait a few minutes to talk or text on a phone. Share these statistics with a teen and help them resolve to never text and drive. Many states are enacting laws to ban texting while driving, but your personal touch can help to inspire others.

The best thing you can do is to personally decide to never text and drive again. Let it begin with yo