Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
Officials with the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety are breaking down accident statistics across the country for 2011 and they’re taking a deeper look into where we need to improve to help to save lives on the road. Still, car accidents continue to be the number one cause of death for Americans.
The truth of the matter is that we’ve lost the lives of more than 1 million people in traffic accidents in the United States in the last 25 years. In 2011, there were close to 32,500 killed on U.S. roadways. Although 2011 served up the lowest number of traffic-accident fatalities in one year since 1949, it still represents an average of about 90 lives lost each day.
Our Naples car accident attorneys understand that there’s a common trend. The most alarming thing about these causes is that each of them are preventable. Among the most common causes for crashes are drunk driving, cell phone use by drivers, speeding, red-light running, drowsy driving and the lack of seat belt and helmet use.
Let’s break it down:
-About one out of every five drivers has been involved in a serious accident.
-About one out of every eight drivers have been seriously injured in an accident.
-About one out of every three drivers has had a close friend or a relative seriously injured or killed in a traffic accident.
Drivers must keep in mind there’s no acceptable amount of alcohol for a person to drink before getting behind the wheel. Although nearly 100 percent of drivers disapprove of the dangerous act, about 15 percent admit that they’ve been or have been over the legal alcohol limit behind the wheel in the last year.
Cell phone use behind the wheel is just as bad. Still, about 70 percent of all drivers admit that they’ve been on the phone behind the wheel at least once in the last 30 days. It’s even worse when it comes to text messages. A text-messaging driver is about 23 times more likely to get into an accident.
It’s also important to remember that we have speed limits for a reason. They’re not there to slow you down, but rather to help keep you safe. Still, about half of all drivers report that they’ve driven 15 miles per hour over the speed limit at least once in the last 30 days.
Drowsy driving is a more difficult issue to address. There’s no true way to keep these statistics. There’s no test to see if a driver is drowsy, as there’s a breathalyzer to test if a driver is drunk. Try not to drive when you’d normally be sleeping. If you’re getting tired behind the wheel — get off of the roadway. It’s so bad that about half of all drivers reported falling asleep or nodding off while driving at least once in their lives. About 3 percent report doing it at least once in the last month.
Call Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, if you or someone you love has been injured in a traffic accident. Call today for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your rights. 1-800-283-2900.
More Blog Entries:
Study Proves Driver Fault in Bicycle Accidents, Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, February 5, 2013
Drowsy Driving Top Culprit in Car Accidents, Study Reveals, Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, January 16, 2013
