According to Distraction.gov, the U.S. Government’s official website dedicated to increasing public awareness of the dangers of distracted driving, 3,154 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in 2013. And while that figure is sobering, the fact that 424,000 people were injured in similar crashes involving distracted drivers should drive the point home that concentrating on anything but the road while driving is a dangerous gamble.
Distracted driving can include any of the following:
- Texting
- Using a cell phone or smartphone
- Eating and drinking
- Talking to passengers
- Grooming
- Reading, including maps
- Using a navigation system
- Watching a video
- Adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player
And while texting is just one of many ways people operate vehicles while distracted, the fact that it diverts both the eyes and the hands from the road makes it twice as dangerous and the factor behind more distracted driving crashes than any other means of distraction.
Drivers in their 20’s are most likely to be involved in a distracted driving crash-racking up a sobering 27 percent of all fatal crashes involving distracted driving.
Safety experts say that five seconds is the average amount of time your eyes are off the road at any given moment you text and when operating a vehicle, experts say that’s enough time to drive the length of an entire football field blindfolded.
Distracted driving is a real danger, both to the drivers engaged in the dangerous activity, and the rest of us on the road. If you or a loved one has been injured because another driver was driving distracted, let an experienced attorney with expertise in auto accidents in Ohio help you recoup your losses and move past this difficult time in your life.