A person traveling in a vehicle may not even realize that they are driving while distracted. It is normal to reach for that travel mug with the necessary caffeine to jump start the day or to surf the satellite options, looking for the right song. As typical as these behaviors are, when a driver takes his focus off the road, whether that it his visual or mental attention, the risks of getting into a serious accident increase tremendously. When the distraction is even more involved, such as taking a “selfie” and updating a social networking site, the consequences can be deadly.
In the news recently was the tragic story of a young woman who wanted to tell the world that she was in a great mood. That impulse was so strong that she did not want to wait until she arrived at her destination to broadcast her update. Unfortunately, this decision resulted in a fatal car accident. While driving to work in North Carolina, this woman crossed the center section and collided with a recycling truck. There was no evidence that speed, alcohol, or drugs were an issue in this crash. The woman’s friends alerted authorities to the near simultaneous posts and crash times. In this case, only the driver who was on the Internet while driving was killed, but many distracted driving accidents result in more than one victim.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving leads to ten percent of fatal traffic crashes and 18 percent of accidents that result in injuries. According to the NHTSA’s recent Distracted Driving Safety Facts sheet, 16 percent of all accidents involve distracted driving. In 2012, this resulted in more than 3,300 fatalities and 421,000 injuries. Young drivers, ages 15 to 19 years, are involved in the greatest number of distracted driving crashes.
Distracted driving, which is included as a subset of inattentive (fatigue, emotional or physical conditions, etc.) driving by some researchers, includes many different behaviors. Part of the problem is that most drivers do not think about the many of the following circumstances as a distraction to be avoided:
- Eating in the car – drive-thrus were created for the propensity of people to multi-task, but this leads to a serious loss of focus;
- Looking at the billboards – they were designed to catch drivers’ attention and they are affective;
- Daydreaming – when traveling the same route for years, many people will zone out in their commute, but this distraction could have severe consequences;
- Bringing your pet in the car – while pet owners may be committed to giving their animals as much time as possible, a loose pet can distract a driver at a critical moment;
- Checking the directions on the GPS – as a way to get where a person is going, GPS devices are wonderful, but when a person picks it up to review the map, it could delay permanently getting to the desired destination;
- Paying attention to the children in the backseat – when a parent is watching what his kids are doing, he is not paying attention to the stopped traffic in front of him;
- Applying makeup or fixing hair – traveling at 65 miles per hour is not the right time to make certain that a person is camera-ready;
- Using electronic devices – this is what most people think of when distracted driving is discussed.
Distracted driving leads to tragic accidents that are entirely preventable but for the negligence of the driver.
A serious accident that results injuries always is traumatic for the victims. When the crash was caused by the negligence of another person, it is important to have a knowledgeable attorney who can get the compensation that you deserve for the harm that you suffered. The experienced Missouri Car Accident Attorneys at Hubbard & Kurtz, LLP are ready to advocate on your behalf. Call us at (877) 535-1163 so we can discuss what happened to you and develop an effective legal strategy.
