Arizona is one of only four states that does not have a ban on texting while driving, and new data suggest that leads to more people texting while behind the wheel.
A study from AT&T said states without a ban have about a 17 percent higher rate of texting while driving than the 46 states with a ban.
AT&T spokesman Scott Huscher said those are rough numbers and only include data from his company’s towers, but that the findings are still alarming.
“Even if you’re looking at your phone for just a few seconds, we found that an average time people take to send a text and look down, you could go the length of a football field while not looking at the road,” he said.
While texting and driving is often associated with young people, Huscher said all ages do it.
“A lot of the students these days, you know, they’re taking this more into account now. They’ve been told by people,” he said. “But they’re also saying, ‘I need to tell my parents about this, because my parents are just as bad, and I see them using their phone.’”
Huscher said AT&T representatives will be at a Phoenix high school Monday with a texting-while-driving simulator, as they try to spread the word about its dangers. It’s part of a six-year campaign called It Can Wait.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driving while texting is more dangerous than driving while intoxicated. Missouri, Montana and Texas are the other states without a ban on texting and driving.
For more information about It Can Wait and the dangers of texting and driving, visit http://www.itcanwait.com/all.
