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We all have heard the statistics that link distracted drivers with car accidents. We also know that it is dangerous to text while driving because we lose sight of the ever-changing situation on the road. The perception is backed up by new research that found a 7 percent average reduction in crash-related hospitalizations in states that have banned texting, the Virginian-Pilot reported. The research used data from 2003 to 2010.
While we are inundated with statistics, visuals can be better at grabbing people’s attention. The videos created during an AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study are terrifying. These short clips show distracted teens in the moments before and after they experience the horrors of an automobile accident. The researchers analyzed the six seconds leading up to a wreck in nearly 1,700 videos of teen drivers taken from in-vehicle event recorders. The results showed that distraction was a factor in a massive 58 percent of all crashes studied, including 89 percent of road-departure crashes and 76 percent of rear-end crashes. Federal agencies had previously has estimated that distraction is a factor in just 14 percent of all teen driver crashes.
As Virginia car accident lawyers we know at first hand the terror of an auto accident. Many other people are not aware of it, unless they are unfortunate enough to be involved in one.
The videos show the many kinds of distractions that lead to accidents. The AAA study found the most common distraction before an accident to be interacting with a passenger, a behavior observed in 15 percent of crashes. Cellphone use came in second, at 12 percent, followed by looking at something inside or outside the vehicle, at 10 percent and 9 percent, respectively.
One disturbing thing was how long the driver’s vision was distracted by something other than the road. Some drivers looked at the radio or their phones for nearly tens seconds before realizing the danger they were in. In other cases, simply turning to talk to a friend, a brief moment really, was enough to miss a breaking vehicle ahead of them.
In April Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers ran a series of blogs to mark distracted driving awareness month. Although we welcomed the focus on distracted driving in April, every month should be distracted driving awareness month.
It is terrifying to imagine how much can happen in a blink of an eye, but that is why we must always be vigilant while on the road. If you suffered injuries in an accident caused by another driver, who was not properly vigilant, you should initially seek medical help and then call Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers at 757 455 0077 for a free consultation. When it really counts, count on Cooper Hurley.