RAISE THE DRIVING AGE? Heart-Stopping Video: Man Captures Teen’s Alleged Texting-While-Driving Accident

When Sean Symons was driving in Arkansas recently, he noticed a teen driving erratically. Symons says the teen was text messaging while behind the wheel, causing him to swerve wildly, even into oncoming traffic. So Symons decided to call police, then whip out his own cell phone and film what was happening. That led to some incredible, heart-stopping footage when the teen lost control of his car: READ MORE...

In a follow-up video, Symons reveals additional footage of the wreck’s aftermath, including him running up to the teen after the accident and some slow-motion shots of the wreck as it unfolds:



Is it time to raise the driving age to 21?

Check out some of these statistics and keep in mind, these are just the stats that we know of, and teens texting and driving is getting worse. They're also now surfing the internet on their phones while driving.
(There's no stats available for 2010-2011)

* In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in the U.S. because of accidents that involved distracted driving. Another 448,000 were injured. (The injured number is staggering)

* The under-20 age group had the highest percentage of distracted drivers; 16% of drivers under 20 years old involved in fatal crashes were distracted while driving.

* More people are driving while distracted when they are involved in fatal crashes. The percentage of fatalities associated with distracted drivers increased from 10% in 2005 to 16% in 2009.

* Despite the risks, the majority of teen drivers ignore cell phone driving restrictions.

* Talking on a cell phone while driving can make a young driver's reaction time as slow as that of a 70-year-old.

* 56% of teenagers admit to talking on their cell phones behind the wheel, while 13% admit to texting while driving. (Note: Because this information was given voluntarily by teens, actual cell phone use numbers may be much higher.)

* 48% of young Americans ages 12-17 say they've been in a car while the driver was texting.

* 52% of 16- and 17-year-old teen drivers confess to making and answering cell phone calls on the road. 34% admit to text messaging while driving.

* In 2007, driver distractions, such as using a cell phone or text messaging, contributed to nearly 1,000 crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers.

* Over 60% of American teens admit to risky driving, and nearly half of those that admit to risky driving also admit to text messaging behind the wheel.

* Each 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.

* Almost 50% of all drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 are texting while driving.

* Over one-third of all young drivers, ages 24 and under, are texting on the road.

* Teens say that texting is their number one driver distraction.

Yea, it's time to jack the age up til 21 and we will save tens of thousands of fatalities and hundreds of thousands of serious injuries. Sorry kids...