One in Six Highway Deaths Tied to Distracted Driving

Sept. 20, 2010— -- Think chatting on your cell phone or sending a text message while driving isn't that dangerous? Think again.

So-called distracted driving crashes claimed 5,474 lives and led to 448,000 injuries across the country last year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That's one in every six highway deaths.

"People [need to] take personal responsibility for the fact that they're driving a three or four thousand pound car," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told ABC News. "If you're looking down at a cell phone for four seconds or a texting device for four seconds, you're driving the length of a football field without looking at the road."

Overall traffic fatalities fell in 2009 to their lowest levels since 1950. But as drivers make smarter decisions about wearing seatbelts and not drinking and driving, they are reaching for their cell phones more and more. From 2005 to 2009, the proportion of deaths tied to driver distraction increased to 16 percent from10 percent, the government said.

"We're right at the starting gate here in terms of where the country was at when nobody buckled up and now 85 percent of the people buckle up," LaHood said. "It took 10 years to get that."

Stay Up to Date on the Latest Travel Trends from ABC News on Twitter

Those under the age of 20 were most likely to be distracted behind the wheel, according to the NHTSA report. However, those ages 30 to 39 were the most likely to be using a cell phone.

"It is very concerning and it's concerning to the extent that most young people think they're invincible," LaHood said. "You need to put the cell phone and the Blackberry in the glove compartment right after you buckle up."