While the federal government is gearing up to release data showing traffic fatalities have reached record lows in many parts of the country, the Governors Highway Safety Association reports this month that serious and fatal car accidents caused by distracted driving have reached all-time highs.

Our New York City car accident lawyers frequently report the dangers associated with distracted driving. As we reported in June on our New York Injury Lawyer Blog, city police continue to crack down on motorists who use cell phones while driving. And studies continue to show that teen drivers are at high risk, particularly when it comes to the dangers of text messaging while behind the wheel.

Among the statistics in the new report:

-The number of drivers using hand-held phones at any given time has increased by 50 percent in the last decade.

-One-third of all drivers feel less safe today than they did five years ago.

-Distracted driving leads to 6,000 fatal accidents and more than 500,000 injuries each year.

-One-third of states do not collect information regarding distracted driving at the scene of an accident.

-While the number of fatal crashes has decreased nationwide, from 42,836 in 2004 to 37,261 in 2008, the number of fatalities caused by distracted driving has increased by about 20 percent, from 4,978 in 2004 to 5,870 in 2008.

-Drivers under the age of 20 are 50 percent more likely to drive distracted.

Aside from using a cell phone or text messaging while driving, other forms of driver distraction include dealing with children in the car, eating, drinking, smoking, talking to passengers, reading, grooming, dressing, applying makeup or utilizing in-car electronics like GPS devices or Mp3 players.

Teens continue to be at the greatest risk. As our New York child injury lawyers recently reported, speaking with your teenagers about driving dangers is critical to teaching safe driving behavior.

-Only 10 percent of young drivers believe having other teen passengers in the car makes a difference in their risk for an accident (one young passenger doubles a teen's risk; more than one young passenger increases a teen's risk by fivefold).

-Only 28 percent believe talking on the phone makes a difference to driving safety (drivers who use cell phones are four times more likely to be involved in an accident).

-79 percent recognize the dangers of text messaging while driving and only 19 percent say friends text and drive (yet drivers under the age of 20 are at the highest risk of being involved in an accident as a result of a young driver who was text messaging).