The National Safety Council has launched a campaign targeting the Big Three road threats: distracted driving, drunk driving and speeding.
Our car accident attorneys recently posted ways motorists can help keep themselves safer as the world attempts a return to near-normal amid the coronavirus pandemic. As we noted in “Understand Road Risks can Prevent Collisions,” safe driving is a learned and practiced activity.
As the NSC notes, more than 40,000 people were killed on the roads annually each year leading up to the pandemic, as record economic activity pushed fatalities near record highs. The organization is now targeting employers and parents, urging them to better advocate road safety to employees and teenagers.
Employer Driver Liability
In most cases, when an employee is injured in a traffic accident on the job, an employer and his or her insurance company bear some part of the responsibility. Most employees will be covered under workers’ compensation insurance, in most cases even if the accident was their fault.
However, our work injury lawyers in Fort Myers know these are complex cases. In some instances, an auto insurance company or a worker’s compensation insurer will deny a claim, or seek a claim against the other party. Increasingly, employers are categorizing workers as independent contractors in an attempt to avoid liability.
The NSC urges employers to adopt distracted-driving policies to urge drivers to hang up the phone. Some employers, and all federal agencies, have policies in place and the extent to which an at-fault driver was obeying or disobeying them can also have an impact on an injury claim.
Nor does the agency recommend the use of hands-free devices as a safe alternative, noting an increasing number of studies show significant cognitive distraction of drivers who are talking on a hands-free device.
In large part, belief these devices are safe is preventing larger gains when it comes to reducing those risks. A recent NSC public opinion poll indicates 80% of drivers across America incorrectly believe that hands-free devices are safer than using a handheld phone.
Teen Driver Safety in SWFL
Our car accident attorneys often write about the increased risks faced by teen drivers. Your teenager is more likely to be seriously injured or killed in a traffic collision than by any other means. He or she faces the highest lifetime collision risks before the age of 24.
Regardless of age, the Big Three – distraction, impaired driving and speeding – are each cited in about one-third of all fatal traffic collisions nationwide.
As schools get back underway, entering into a teen driving contract with your child can be a great way to outline expectations and consequences. Teens are at particularly high risk when riding in a car with other teens or driving at night. Florida’s Graduated Driver’s Licensing Program places passenger and night-driving restrictions on teenage licenses and these should be obeyed.
Whether parent or employer, the goal is the same: Reducing the risk of a serious fatal collision.
If you or a loved one is injured, call Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, at 1-800-646-1210.