The National Transportation Safety Board is now calling distracted driving an epidemic, with deadly crashes up 22 percent last year. resulting in nearly 46,000 people dying.

There’s a number of contributing factors to those crashes such as drunk driving or not buckling up. But Dr. Matt Young with Texarkana Emergency Center says one that’s becoming more prevalent is distracted driving.

Most everyone has been guilty of taking their eyes off the road to answer the phone or reply to a text. But every time you do that, experts say you’re risking your life and the lives of others…

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, more than 3,000 people died in 2020 from distracted driving, and nearly 324,000 were injured. Distracted driving laws have been passed in many of the 50 states, but differ in requirements and in level of enforcement.