Research has shown that a driver texting while behind the wheel is as dangerous as a drunk driver. In fact, drivers who send texts while driving are 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident than those who don’t.  Yet, for whatever reason, texting while driving is still deemed acceptable by many drivers while drunk driving is considered taboo. A recent article from the Insurance Journal explores this issue in-depth. It draws striking similarities between texting behind the wheel and driving drunk.

One state has already caught on. Legislation in Utah equates texting while driving with drunk driving. If a driver who is texting while driving causes an accident resulting in a fatality, he or she will be sentenced as harshly as if they had been driving drunk and could face up to 15 years in prison.

The National Safety Council estimates that 200,000 crashes are caused each year by drivers who are text messaging.

Check out the IJ article–you won’t look at texting while driving in the same way again.