Usually, we through heaps of praise on infographics. Why? Because for the most part we select “kick ass” infographics. This one, however, is a bit of a conundrum. On one hand it contains a lot of kick ass data, on the other hand the background and text color make it nearly impossible to read. Anyways props to Nationwide Insurance for conducting so much research!
This infographic is all about car crashes and cell phone use, an important topic. Mobile phones were involved in 350 different fatal accidents in 2011. Just imagine how many lives have been lost!
The numbers themselves might be a lot worse, because many people won’t admit to being distracted by a cell phone! Further, there’s not an easy way to test after the fact, like with alcohol blood levels. Even obtaining cellphone records is difficult and witnesses’ memory is often inaccurate after the fact.
Consider the case of Chelsey Murphy, four months pregnant. She was walking across the street in Naples, Florida, a driver distracted while talking on a cell phone hit her and killed her.
If you live in the United States, you should check out this map and see how many people have died in your state because of cell phone use. Sadly, six people have died in my home state of Michigan because someone was busy jabbering or texting away.
The most important lesson here is to remain focused on the road. It doesn’t matter what’s distracting you, whether it’s your cell phone, or the radio. Every second your eyes are off the road or your mind is wandering, is a second when an accident could happen!
