Image via WikipediaDistracted driving fatalities caused by cell phone use and texting soared in the space of three years, according to new U.S. government research released Thursday.
Texting alone caused more than 16,000 deaths in car accidents from 2001 to 2007, the researchers estimated. But auto deaths involving cell phones and texting while driving rose 28 percent in just three years, from 4,572 in 2005 to 5,870 in 2008.
"The increases in distracted driving seem to be largely driven by increased use of cell phones to text," said lead researcher Fernando Wilson, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.
"Overall use of cell phones have been pretty steady, but texting volumes have increased dramatically in the last few years," he added.
Distracted driving and its deadly toll was the focus of a government summit this week in Washington, D.C., at which officials called for tougher laws to counter the growing trend. They reported that more than 5,000 people were killed last year in distracted driving crashes.
In January, the government banned truck and bus drivers who travel interstate roadways from using a handheld device to send text messages.
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