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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Researchers found that on average, states with a texting ban saw a 4 percent reduction in motor vehicle crash-related emergency department visits. This equates to an average of 1,632 traffic-related emergency department visits prevented per year in states with a ban. Both primary and secondary bans were associated with significant reductions in motor vehicle crash-related visits to the emergency department regardless of whether they were on all drivers or young drivers only. Individuals aged 64 years and younger in states with a texting ban saw significantly fewer motor vehicle crash-related emergency department visits following its implementation.
These study findings suggest that states’ efforts to curb distracted driving through texting bans and decrease its negative consequences are associated with significant decreases in emergency department visits following motor vehicle crashes.
[Author Contact: Alva O. Ferdinand, Department of Health Policy and Management, Texas A&M University School of Public Health, College Station, TX. “Texting-while-driving bans and motor vehicle crash–related emergency department visits in 16 U.S. states: 2007–2014”].