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As a Fort Worth-Dallas Personal Injury Lawyer, I see first hand the devastation that can be caused by distracted driving. This causes automobile accidents which result in serious injuries and even death. As cellphones have become more propular and texting more prevelant, so the distracted driving epidemic has gotten worse.
What is Distracted Driving?
The definition of a distracted driver is vague, most distracted driving related fatalities (84%) are associated with the general classification of operating the vehicle in a careless or inattentive manner (could include operating a cell phone, eating, talking to a passenger, looking at billboards, putting on makeup, etc). This means that, the measurement of distracted driving is based on guess-work as much as scientific observation.
Ways to Prevent Distracted Driving
An easy way to prevent an auto accident from distracted driving is simply by planning ahead. One of the main reasons that cause drivers to be distracted is because they try to multi-task. If you know that you need to be at work at 8:00 a.m. and know that it takes you 30 minutes to get there plan for time to eat breakfast, put on your makeup, check your e-mail, etc. Allow time to just sit in the car and focus on the road. Drivers under the age of 20 are already inexperienced drivers, so by having teenagers multi-task increases their chances of being involved in a vehicle wreck.
Technologygy That “Helps” Distracted Driving
Approximately 1.6 million traffic accidents happen on roads across the U.S. because people are talking on cell phones. Studies show that eight in ten Americans admit to driving while on their cell phones. A report by The Harvard Mental Health Letter found that talking on a cell phone while driving is more dangerous than talking to a passenger in the car. Researchers found that the drivers talking by cell phone were more likely to drift between lanes and miss an exit than were drivers talking to passengers.
Some drivers feel that using a hands-free cell phone will make it better, but research shows otherwise. Studies show that hands-free cell phones can be just as distracting and that any type of cell phone used while driving can cause impairments similar to drunk driving.
Some Statistics about Distracted Driving
In 2009, there were 33,963 Americans killed in traffic crashes and many that were injured in traffic accidents. Automobile traffic accidents are the number one cause of death for Americans ages 3 to 33. Those numbers are shocking, but because drivers spend so much time behind the wheel, there is a false sense of security despite knowing that several people have died or been seriously injured on our highways. This feeling of safety brings on complacency. Operating a vehicle is serious business and not paying attention to the highway can lead to deadly results.
• Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted driver, and more than half a million were injured.
• In 2008, almost 20 percent of all crashes in the year involved some type of distraction.
• The younger, inexperienced drivers under 20 years old have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes.
• Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.
• Using a cell phone use while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.
If you have been inured in a wreck caused by a distracted driver, you should call an experienced personal injury attorney who will be able to offer you advice and explain your legal rights. For a no obligation consulation call free 800-354-6275 or locally at 817-294-1900.
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