Heads up! Data shows lax laws increase texting-while-driving in Arizona

PHOENIX — New data collected by AT&T shows how texting and driving laws, or in Arizona’s case, a lack thereof, impacts driving behavior.

Through anonymous algorithms and analysis, AT&T’s number crunchers were able to estimate rates of texting and driving across the U.S.

They found that the four states without statewide anti-texting laws — Arizona, Missouri, Montana and Texas — have a roughly 17 percent higher rate of texting while driving than the 46 states with bans.

“From a mathematical standpoint, 17 percent I think is a significant number,” said AT&T spokesman Scott Huscher.

The data analysis was part of AT&T’s It Can Wait campaign, whose goal is to “spread awareness of the dangers and hope that people put their phones away and keep their eyes on the road.”

Phoenix, Tucson, Tempe and Flagstaff have texting-specific laws on the books, but those laws are hard to enforce as drivers can say they were using their phones for things other than texting.

Except for school bus drivers, there is no statewide ban on cell phone use while driving in Arizona.

Other texting and driving statistics:

• The normal driver can only safely glance the road for two seconds, but the average text takes your eyes off the road for five seconds.
• Each day 9 people are killed and 1,161 injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver.
• In 2014, one-in-four car crashes involved a cell phone.

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