Driving while distracted is one of the deadliest things you can do as a driver on the road – and the worst offender is texting while driving. According to the FCC:

• Over 8 people are killed and 1,161 are injured daily in incidents reported as distraction-affected crashes in the United States.

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2015, there were 3,477 people killed and an estimated additional 391,000 people injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.

• At any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010.

• In 2015, the National Occupant Protection Use Survey reported that handheld cell phone use continued to be highest among 16-24-year-old drivers.

These sobering statistics can be avoided, or at least ameliorated, through some simple steps you can take to impress upon people, especially new drivers, that texting while driving is dangerous for everyone on the road, including the driver.

Tell new drivers that they should not be using mobile devices, like cell phones or music players, while behind the wheel. Taking your eyes off the road for even a split second can kill – and with drivers taking their eyes off the road for an average of five seconds while texting (the equivalent of driving an entire football field) there’s a lot that can happen in even a short amount of time.

Don’t text and drive yourself! If you are trying to lead by example and show a new driver good habits while driving, you should practice what you preach and put the phone down.

There are solutions to staying in touch when behind the wheel that are much less dangerous and leave your hands and eyes open to driving, such as Bluetooth® and voice-activated controls. However, any distractions while driving should be avoided at all costs. If you know that you are easily distracted, do not talk on the phone or text when driving. Make sure that everything, like music, is set up before you start moving so that you will not have to adjust when on the road.

Staying safe on the road is one of the most important things you can do for not only yourself, but for the other drivers on the road with you. Teach others about how they can stay safe and not distracted, and practice those lessons yourself.