Distracted driving has become more and more problematic over the years. Fatal distracted driving accidents are more likely to involve motorists between the ages of 18 and 34. It is this demographic that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration targeted recently in a campaign against distracted driving.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s nationwide distracted driving campaign ran between April 4 and 11 this year. The campaign was called U Drive. U Text. U Pay and it focused on reminding drivers about the dangers of using electronic communication devices like cell phones at the wheel. Most motorists think that the most dangerous thing that they could be doing with a cell phone while at the wheel is texting or talking on cell phone. The truth is that there are a wide variety of other very distracting tasks that a motorist can perform while at the wheel. These can include reading and replying to emails, uploading photos and videos on social media and taking selfies while driving. All of these are very distracting activities that can significantly increase the potential for a deadly accident.
You do not even have to be engage with your cell phone throughout the time you are driving for the risk to increase significantly. Merely taking your eyes off the road or your hands off the wheel for a few seconds can be sufficient to cause a disastrous crash.
While distractions from cell phones are some of the most serious and most common ones, they are not, by any means, the only distractions that a motorist may be at risk of while driving. April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and transportation safety agencies in Georgia and across the country have been conducting awareness campaigns to bring attention to the fact that distracted driving continues to be a major threat. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that more than 3,100 people were killed in car accidents directly related to distracted driving in 2020. Accidents directly caused by distracted drivers also killed more than 420,000 people that same year.
The problem of distractions from cell phones is a multifaceted one. One the one hand, surveys by Advocates for Auto and Highway Safety have found that 70% of motorists admitted to having used cell phones while driving at least once in the recent past. On the other hand, more than 80% of motorists were also very concerned about the problems of distracted driving and believe that law enforcement officers are not doing enough to prevent such practices.
The Atlanta car accident lawyers at the Katz Personal Injury Lawyers are dedicated to the representation of persons injured in accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across Georgia. If you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident, talk to an Atlanta lawyer at our firm and discuss your legal rights to a claim for damages. You might be eligible for compensation that includes lost wages, medical expenses, diminished earning capacity and other types of damages. Talk to a lawyer at our firm and discuss your case. Initial consultations are free.