Driving test shows danger of distracted driving

PASADENA, TX (KTRK) -- A constable writing a ticket was struck by a suspected distracted driver. A young girl killed walking home was struck by a driver accused of reaching for their phone.

Lives were changed -- even ended in seconds -- all because a driver took their eyes off the road.

"You get next to them and you see it's adults, it's teenagers, it's across the board," Pasadena police officer Steve Johnson said.

The risk is all around you.

Johnson has been with Pasadena police 32 years. He says the problem has become an epidemic.

"You can pick them out when you are following behind them," he said.

And crash numbers from the Texas Department of Transportation show it. The number distracted driving accidents in Harris County alone have gone up.

"If you're driving down the road and a box falls off a truck in front of you and you have to swerve to avoid it, some real tight turning maneuvers," he said.

But with a phone in hand and eyes off the road, it could become catastrophic. Even abrupt braking can be affected by holding the phone in the hand.