Safety experts have been working long and hard to convince Americans to stop engaging in distractions behind the wheel, but the problem is only getting worse.
According to NBC NEWS, there’s an overwhelming amount of evidence that shows cell phones and text messaging devices are some of the most dangerous driver distractions and that they’re some of the most common.
According to a release from State Farm, a good majority of American drivers openly admit to driving while distracted. Some of these distractions have increased in recent years. According to the report, close to 60 percent of drivers admit to talking on a cell phone, close to 40 percent admit to texting. That’s a number that’s up from about 30 percent in 2009. It’s the 18- to 29-year-old drivers who are most guilty, showing us that more than 75 percent talking on a phone while driving and close to 70 percent admit to texting behind the wheel.
Our Cape Coral car accident lawyers understand that although almost all drivers admit to engaging in electronic distractions behind the wheel, most drivers understand that it’s dangerous and they support serious bans against the behavior. More than half of all drivers support imprisonment as the appropriate penalty for deadly cellphone-related accidents.
The problem with most of us is that we overestimate out abilities behind the wheel. Many of us think that we’re capable of handling two tasks in the driver’s seat. The truth is that’s not true.
“Everybody thinks they’re the exception,” said Robert Rosenberg with the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
According to the latest information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there was a slight decrease in the number of distracted driving-related fatalities. Still, there were more than 3,300 people to be killed in these kinds of accidents in 2012. On the other hand though, the number of injured increased by close to 35,000.
Back in October, Florida became the latest state to make it illegal to text while driving. AAA calls it a “good start” for the state, which had close to 90 fatal car crashes caused by distracted driving from 2010 to 2011. But Florida’s version of the ban actually leaves a lot of leeway for cell phone use in the driver’s seat.
In 2008, more than 5,500 older adults were killed and more than 183,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes. This amounts to 15 older adults killed and 500 injured in crashes on average every day.
What you’ve got to do is make safe driving your first priority. If talking on your cell phone is going to distract you, don’t use it while driving. If you are behind the wheel and you get a call, just let it ring! If the caller wants to talk to you, he will leave a message. If you suddenly need to make a call, pull over and stop your car as soon as you can.
If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident, contact Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured. Call for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your rights. 1-800-283-2900.
More Blog Entries:
Red-Light Running and Intersection Traffic Accidents in Southwest Florida , Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, November 30, 2013
Keeping Teen Drivers Alive with “5 to Drive”, Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, November 6, 2013