Each year, thousands of faultless motorists and passengers are injured or killed by a distracted driver. Distracted driving activities such as texting and driving divert your attention for only a few seconds but can cause fatal motor vehicle accidents.
Dangerous activity
Taking your eyes off the road while driving increases the odds of an accident by 400 percent. In 2018, 2,800 people were killed, and 400,000 people were injured in distracted driving accidents. There were 4,637 accident fatalities from cell phone and electronic device use in 2018.
In 2015, there were 35,092 vehicle accident deaths in this country and 3,477 of those were distracted driving fatalities. That year, there were also 2.44 million injuries in all crashes and 391,000 of those injuries were attributed to distracted driving.
Cell phones
Cell phone usage reduces a motorists’ attention by as much as 37 percent and impairs driving as much as exceeding the legal blood alcohol content for drunk driving. In fact, 14 percent of all fatal vehicle accidents involved improper cell phone use and no other distractions, according to recent reports. Using a phone while driving causes 1.6 million car accidents each year.
Texting and driving
Drivers who text and drive are 23 times more likely to be in a car crash. This distraction is six times more likely to cause a vehicle accident than drunk driving. Over 3,000 teenagers die each year in texting and driving accidents.
Texting and driving increases the time that a motorist is diverted by 400 percent. Even texting at a stoplight is dangerous because motorists must keep their total focus to drive safely. Texting and driving caused $129 billion or 15 percent of the overall damage caused by vehicle accidents.
Alabama law
Alabama does not have a hand-held device ban. Its laws prohibit drivers who are 16 and 17 who have held an intermediate license for less than six months from using cellphones. Texting and driving is illegal for all motorists.
Victims of a distracted driver may face staggering medical costs and other losses. An attorney can help victims and families lose a loved one in a distracted driving accident seek compensation.