A primary care physician and Harvard professor is encouraging doctors to discuss the dangers of distracted driving with their patients, right along with the health risks associated with smoking and other unhealthy practices, the New York Times reported.

Distracted driving is a leading cause of New York City car accidents. Nationwide, an estimated 6,000 people are killed and more than 600,000 are injured each year in car accidents caused by distracted driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Studies continue to show teens are at increased risk of car accidents and are most likely to be involved in an accident as a result of cell phone use or text messaging while driving.

"This is such an easy way to keep people healthy -- it's prevention, and it's such low-lying fruit," Dr. Amy Ship writes in the New England Journal of Medicine. She told the Times: "As physicians, we have an opportunity to counsel patients. It's an enormous power, and we should take advantage of it."

Ship also points to a public service announcement aimed at teenagers, which is currently running on British television. While the U.S. government has launched a website, Distraction.gov, we certainly have nothing on the Brits when it comes to getting our teenager's attention. Our New York City injury lawyers encourage parents to watch this video with their teen drivers and to open a dialogue about the importance of safe driving as school lets out and the long summer vacation season begins.

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 20. In 2008, a total of 5,864 young drivers were involved in fatal accidents. In New York, 181 people were killed in accidents involving teenage drivers.

A study of distracted driving by the National Safety Council found:

- Distracted Driving joins alcohol and speeding as the leading causes of serious and fatal traffic accidents.

- 28 percent of all crashes were attributed to cell-phone use in 2008, resulting in 1.6 million crashes and 645,000 injuries. Drivers using a cell phone are four times more likely to be involved in an accident.

- 11 percent of drivers are using a cell phone at any given point in time. Eighty-one percent of drivers admit to talking on the phone while behind the wheel.

- 18 percent of drivers admit to texting while driving, led by Gen Y (39 percent) and teenagers (36 percent).