As cell phones have become more prominent in society over the last five to ten years they have served as yet another distraction for drivers.

According to textinganddrivingsafety.com 77% of young adults are confident that they can safely text while driving, but it has been proven that people who text and drive spend 10% of driving time driving outside of their lane.

Statistics show 34% of drivers age 18-20 have admitted to texting and driving and 13% have admitted to being on their cell phone at the time of a crash.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration texting and driving is six times more likely to cause an accident than driving intoxicated.

According to www.allstatefoundation.org texting and driving makes a crash 23 times more likely to happen which explains why cell phones are involved in about 1.3 million car accidents a year.

States are taking a stand against using cell phones while driving. Ten states plus Washington D.C. prohibit drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving. 32 states prohibit novice drivers from using cell phones and 39 states prohibit drivers from texting and driving.

Teenagers are not the only perpetrators of this recent problem. Surveys found that 27% of adults have sent or received text messages while driving and 48% of kids ages 12-17 have been in a car while the driver was texting.

Cell phone companies are coming up with ways to reduce texting and driving. AT&T created the AT&T Drive Mode app for Android and Blackberry. The app will send a text message to anyone who texts you while driving letting them know that you are driving and will answer them once you reach your destination. The app turns on once your car is going at least 25 mph.

Driving is a task that comes with risk and any measure that can reduce that risk should be taken.