TEXARKANA, Texas - New data shows highways are getting deadlier in the United States.
The National Transportation Safety Board is now calling distracted driving an epidemic, with deadly crashes up 22 percent last year. resulting in nearly 46,000 people dying.
There's a number of contributing factors to those crashes such as drunk driving or not buckling up. But Dr. Matt Young with Texarkana Emergency Center says one that's becoming more prevalent is distracted driving.
Most everyone has been guilty of taking their eyes off the road to answer the phone or reply to a text. But every time you do that, experts say you're risking your life and the lives of others.
Many cell phones have driver safe modes to help remove the temptation of answering it on the road. Young says all motorists need to fully focus on driving.
"The best cure for anything is obviously prevention and what we're trying to do is get the word out so people can prevent this, and not be distracted, and realize that when they are behind the wheel of a car or vehicle that they are in charge of their lives, the people in front of them, the people around them and the people inside their vehicle," said Young.
This is the second year in a row that federal data has shown an increase in deadly crashes.
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, more than 3,000 people died in 2020 from distracted driving, and nearly 324,000 were injured. Distracted driving laws have been passed in many of the 50 states, but differ in requirements and in level of enforcement.
