In 2008, at any given moment, over 800,000 Americans were texting, making calls, or using a handheld cell phone while driving during the daytime. With distracted driving killing nearly 6,000 Americans in the same year, it's no mystery that cell phone use is risky for drivers.

Cell phones are the cause of nearly 25% of all wrecks today. Every year, 21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of cell phone usage. This result has been expected to grow as much as 4% every year. 4 out of every 5 accidents (80%) are attributed to distracted drivers. In contrast, drunk drivers account for roughly 1 out of 3 (33%) of all accidents nationally. In 2008 almost 6,000 people were killed and a half-million were injured in crashes related to driver distraction.

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Recent studies show that drivers who text message while they are driving are 23 times more likely to be involved in an auto accident than those who are not operating their cell phones.

"In crashes or near-crashes, texting took a driver's focus away from the street for an average of 4.6 seconds--enough time, the reports point out, to travel the length of a football field at 55 mph."

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One in four (26%) of American teens of driving age say they have texted while driving, and half (48%) of all teens ages 12 to 17 say they’ve been a passenger while a driver has texted behind the wheel.

“Many teens understand the risks of texting behind the wheel,” said Amanda Lenhart, Senior Research Specialist at the Internet & American Life Project and co-author of the distracted driving report, “the desire to stay connected is so strong for teens and their parents that safety sometimes takes a backseat to staying in touch with friends and family."