It doesn’t involve drugs or booze nor is it even necessarily illegal.

But bottom line, the results can be the same.

The latest stats on “distracted driving” in Texas — who knew there was such a thing? — say it accounted for 100,687 accidents on Texas roads last year. That’s about one in every five wrecks on our highways.

Here’s how bad it is close to home: A spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Transportation in Beaumont said there were nine deaths and 47 serious injuries connected to distracted driving in the eight Beaumont District counties — Chambers, Jasper, Jefferson, Hardin, Liberty, Newton, Orange and Tyler — in 2017.

A wreck is a wreck is a wreck. That holds true whether the cause of the wreck is distraction by responding to a text while driving or by drinking oneself blind before turning the key. The damage can be just as severe or fatal. The fault can be just as final.

That’s why the state of Texas has launched its “Heads up, Texas” campaign, a campaign name that may need some further explanation. Launch of the campaign comes during April, which is National Distracted Driving Month.

The campaign by the TxDOT pertains to waiting to read or write or return text messages while you drive.

It means you should forgo telephone conversations, fiddling with radio or music equipment while driving, eating or drinking or emailing or looking at photos.

It means your head should be up and your eyes should be fixed on the road and your attention to driving should be undivided. It means your head should not be looking down at your phone.

That’s why Texas lawmakers passed a ban on texting while driving, which makes it illegal to read, write or send a text while driving. Fines can run up to $200 for an offense. The law went into effect Sept. 1.

Forty-seven states ban texting and driving; for almost all, it is a primary offense, which means police can pull you over if they see you flouting the law.

AT&T, working with the state, says a survey revealed that most Texas drivers readily concede that driving while using the smartphone is not smart — they know it is dangerous. Yet 89 percent — almost nine in 10 — still use the smartphone while operating their vehicle. Go figure.

“Distracted driving is never OK,” said Ryan Luckey, assistant vice president of Corporate Brand Marketing for AT&T. “We’re proud to join TxDOT in sharing that message with Texans through revealing survey data and events that highlight the dangers and the new law.”

Dr. Ali Osman of Neighbors Emergency Center Golden Triangle says parents should not only instruct their children about distracted driving, they should set the example.

That means you.