Distracted Driving Statistics

Is distracted driving the new drunk driving?

Carnegie Mellon University scientists have ascertained that just listening to a cell phone while driving is a significant distraction and causes drivers to commit some of the same types of driving errors that occur under the influence of alcohol.

More than 275 million Americans own cell phones and 81 percent of them talk on those phones while driving. The negative consequences have reached epidemic proportions.

Driver distraction presents a serious and potentially deadly danger. In 2008, 5,870 people lost their lives and an estimated 515,000 people were injured in police-reported crashes in which at least one form of driver distraction was reported on the police crash report. Distracted driving comes in various forms, such as cell phone use, texting while driving, eating, drinking, talking to passengers, as well as using in-vehicle technologies and portable electronic devices.

What’s more, 80 percent of all crashes and 65 percent of near crashes involve some type of distraction that takes the eyes off the road, according to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute’s 100-car study for the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). The same group found that, above all, texting makes us more than 20 times more likely to crash.

Other Forms Of Distractions

There are other less obvious forms of distractions including daydreaming or dealing with strong emotions.

According to a recent Seventeen Magazine survey, 86 percent of teens know that distracted driving is dangerous—and they do it anyway.

Using a cell phone use while driving, whether it’s handheld or hands-free, delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.

Have you or your family suffered physical and emotional harm caused by a distracted driver? If the answer is yes – act now and contact Anapol Schwartz, the distracted driver attorneys to find out what your legal options are. You may be eligible for a distracted driver lawsuit.