DON'T LOOK AT THIS

What are you looking at?

Text while you drive and you could be writing your own obituary.

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researcher Rebecca Naumann looked at survey data on mobile device use while driving in the United States and seven European countries. She says that, for instance, 31 percent of U.S. drivers reported reading or sending texts or emails while driving, compared with 15 percent of drivers in Spain.

“When drivers take their attention away from the road and do things like make phone calls, email or text, they’re putting themselves and others at increased risk, and crashes are more likely to occur.”

She says nearly 1 in 5 U.S. crashes in which someone is hurt involved distracted driving.\

The analysis is in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Learn more at healthfinder.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.