I pledge to not text and drive, and here's why:

I have plenty of friends I have to yell at every time I’m in their car to keep their eyes on the road and off of their phones. They say, “sorry, but everyone does it” and that “they’ve never gotten in an accident because of it.” I’m sorry, but that does not make it okay. You are increasing your chances of a car accident by 23 percent every single time you pick up your phone, and every year there are around 5,700 deaths because of cell phone usage while driving. It needs to stop.

You are not above the effects of distracted driving. Not you nor anyone in the world are immune to the effects of driving while using a cell phone. What makes you think that you have super-human powers that make you more alert when multitasking while driving with an activity on your phone? Hey, newsflash, you don’t have super human powers and you may end up hurting yourself and others if you continue to use your phone while driving.

In 2011, at least 23 percent of car accidents in the U.S. involved cell phones as a distraction and cause of the accident. That’s a whopping 1.3 million automobile accidents caused by distracted driving. I know what everyone must be thinking, “Those dang teenagers can't be away from their phone for a second!” But no, it's adults too. Worst of all, they do it in front of their young passengers. Forty-eight percent of kids ages 12-17 have been in the car when the driver was texting. As an adult, you set a model for what your kids should be doing, so it's as simple as this: don’t text and drive.

When someone hears "distracted driving," the first thing that comes to mind is texting. And yes, texting while driving is perhaps the most prominent way that your phone can distract you, but it is not the only way. Distracted driving is anything that takes your eyes from the road for even a second, because a second is all it takes for a life-altering accident to occur.

Of course, there are laws put in place in almost every state that limit cell phone usage while driving. In fact, 39 states prohibit drivers from texting while behind the wheel, which is a step in the right direction as these laws create an incentive for people to keep their hands off of their phones while driving, but it is not completely stopping the problem of phone-related accidents on the road. That is because looking down to pick up your phone, talking on the phone while driving, changing the music and snap chatting are all causes of accidents on the road, not just texting. A better policy would be to prohibit drivers from using a hand-held cell phone completely during driving, but a law that does this is only found in 10 states.

Just like you wouldn’t get in the car with a drunk driver for obvious reasons, you shouldn’t get in the car with a distracted driver, either. Be an advocate for non-distracted driving, do not text and drive, and be an annoying back-seat driver to anyone who is trying to multitask while driving.

Sharing this article will bring awareness to the issue of distracted driving, which could potentially save a life. By sharing this article, you pledge to not only not text and drive, but be an advocate to others about the dangers of cell phone usage on the road.