70 Percent of U.S. Car Crashes Caused by Distracted Driving

By Jeffrey S. Friedman | May 3, 2016

70 Percent of U.S. Car Crashes Caused by Distracted DrivingAt Silverman, McDonald & Friedman, we get justice for our clients who have been injured in car crashes caused by distracted drivers. Speak with one of our auto accident lawyers in Newark, Seaford or Wilmington who will discuss your case and explain your legal options.

The National Safety Council (NSC) fully participated in Distracted Driving Awareness Month activities in April. Their mission was to increase awareness about this rampant epidemic that killed 3,179 and injured 431,000 people in 2014 in the United States, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). The NSC helped spread the word about the dangers of cell phone use behind the wheel by releasing public service announcements online and on television, offering seminars that help employers develop a cell phone policy for their employees, and creating a distracted driving online course to teach people about the dangers of distracted driving.

The National Safety Council also encouraged drivers to take the pledge to “Take Back My Drive,” in which drivers pledge to never do the following in the car:

  • Have a conversation on a cell phone whether handheld or hands-free
  • Text or send snapchats
  • Use voice-to-text features on their vehicle’s dashboard system
  • Update social media
  • Read or send emails
  • Take selfies or videos
  • Enter GPS destination while the vehicle is in motion
  • Call or text someone else when I know they are driving

Even while other causes of distracted driving including drinking alcohol, interacting with other passengers within the vehicle and reacting to distractions outside the vehicle are holding steady or declining, car crashes caused by drivers distracted by cell phones are increasing exponentially. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in America, and teens are the most likely to talk and text while driving. In a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, Distracted Driving and Risk of Road Crashes among Novice and Experienced Drivers, researchers looked at the performance of secondary tasks as a major cause of motor vehicle crashes both among novice teen drivers and adult, experienced drivers. To conduct the study, researchers installed accelerometers, cameras, global positioning systems, and other sensors in vehicles driven by 42 newly licensed teen drivers and 109 adult drivers with more driving experience.

The results revealed 167 crashes and near-crashes among novice drivers, and 518 crashes and near-crashes among the more experienced drivers. The risk of a crash or a near-crash among novice drivers increased when they were dialing a phone, reaching for a phone, sending or receiving text messages, looking at objects outside of the vehicle and eating. For the experienced drivers, dialing a cell phone was associated with a significantly increased risk of a crash or near-crash, and the prevalence of high-risk attention to secondary tasks tended to increase over time with the inexperienced drivers but not for the experienced drivers.

While you can probably guess that the study concluded that the risk of crash or near-crash increased with the performance of secondary tasks. It does not take a medical journal study to prove that texting behind the wheel can cause a deadly crash. However, maybe quantifying the results and sharing the data about what happens when drivers – whether they are new or experienced drivers – try to do anything else while they are driving.

The pledge for Distracted Driver Awareness Month is a fun activity, but those who might fill one out are most likely not the drivers we should all be concerned about. It is the drivers who think that they are skilled enough to talk and text and drive at the same time, or else the ones who are simply irresponsible and do not care that are the cause for concern.

You are welcome to give us a call us at 302.414.5553 or fill out our quick contact form to schedule a free case review. The law firm of Silverman, McDonald & Friedman is conveniently located in Newark, Seaford and Wilmington and we are proud to serve clients throughout Delaware.

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Posted in Auto Accidents