Let’s face facts both drunk driving and distracted driving cause accidents, injury and death but which is the lesser or two evils……NEITHER! Drivers who are texting while behind the wheel have a 23% higher chance of causing a crash. That is equivalent to downing four beers and then getting behind the wheel. It’s not a competition both are fundamentally wrong, that being said let’s look at some stats:

Drunk Driving On The Decline. According to the NHTSA 2011 Traffic Safety Facts, laws passed by all 50 states and the District of Columbia lowering the threshold of illegal driving to .08 blood alcohol content have resulted in a decrease in drunk driving fatalities. In 2002, there were 12,405 drunk driving fatalities. That number dropped to 9,296 in 2011 – a 25% decrease.

Texting & Driving On The Rise. Distracted driving resulted in approximately 2,600 deaths in 2002. The number of distracted driving accidents increased by 22% in 2011 and resulted in 3,331 fatalities. Texting while driving is a leading cause of distracted driving. However, the NHTSA reports that texting while driving is currently responsible for approximately 1.6 million accidents every year – about 25% of all driving accidents.

In New York if you are caught texting while driving it is an AUTOMATIC 5 POINTS on your license!

DWI charges of any kind (AGG DWI, DWI, DUI, DWAI) all result in varying fines, jail time and suspension or revocation of your license in NY.

Either way it’s not worth the risk!!!! Stay tuned to this blog spot for more info on distracted driving laws and as always DRIVE SAFE!