Distracted Driving Facts and Taking Responsibility

How serious are the dangers? Deadly serious.

With the way that technology has been advancing in recent years, it is no surprise that we have seen increasing car accidents caused by distracted drivers.  In 2014 alone, over 3,000 people were killed and over 431,000 injured as a result of distracted drivers.*  Anything that diverts your attention away from the road is considered a distraction. 

Distracted Driving may include, but are not limited to:

• Cell phone use,
• Smoking,
• Eating,
• Grooming,
• Pet distractions.

Cell phones are probably the biggest distraction with about 1 in 4 car accidents being caused by texting.  That is a shocking statistic considering that this statistic only includes texting.  Our cell phones are basically like computers now and are not limited to just texting and calling.  We could expect this statistic to be much greater if you include all the possible distractions with the endless applications that exist on smartphones.

As car accident attorneys, we see many instances where people are victims of distracted drivers.  To reduce the risk of auto accidents, our lawyers suggest:

• Turn your phone off or put it some place where you will not be accessing it while you are driving,
• Set up your route of navigation prior to your departure to prevent looking at your navigating device on your trip.Use voiced directions if possible,
• If you need your phone for navigation, set it up to have Siri tell you the directions so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road. Or if you are riding with another passenger, give the phone to them,
• If you MUST eat while you are driving, eat foods that don’t require two hands,
• Animals that are riding in your car should be in some type of kennel to prevent the risk of distraction.

At SiebenCarey we do represent people who are injured by distracted drivers. However we believe that by understanding how mental and physical distractions impair drivers and by educating others how to avoid distractions, we may eliminate needless injuries and deaths. 
_{*According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)}