Poll: Texting while driving is biggest safety threat
The majority of Long Islanders think that people who text while driving are the biggest threat to safety on the roads, according to a News 12/Hofstra poll. More than 57 percent of people reported worrying
News 12 Staff
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Oct 6, 2015, 7:00 AM
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Updated 3,134 days ago
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The majority of Long Islanders think that people who text while driving are the biggest threat to safety on the roads, according to a News 12/Hofstra poll.
More than 57 percent of people reported worrying most about drivers texting. Only 23 percent picked drunken drivers as the biggest threat.
Just over 10 percent of respondents reported that they do not worry about either of those threats, and about 6 percent were undecided.
National studies show that texting while driving may cause about 1.6 million accidents per year. Statistics show that texting while driving increases the likelihood of having a crash by about 23 times -- roughly the same as driving after drinking four beers.
"Even a hands-free cellphone is not risk free," an AAA representative tells News 12.
Stricter laws against texting while driving in New York went into effect last year, increasing the fine to as high as $450.
