Despite a significant increase in the total number of miles driven by American motorists, highway deaths last year were at their lowest level since 1949, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

Noting that millions of workers’ jobs require them to drive, OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels is urging employers to enact policies that prohibit texting – a particularly dangerous part of the distracted driving “epidemic” that accounts for approximately 16 percent of traffic fatalities.