One of the greatest dangers facing us on our roadways today is distracted driving. Despite the enactment of laws in nearly every state to discourage and eliminate this unsafe practice, people continue to do it and as a result people continue to get hurt or die as a result. If you or someone you love has been injured in a crash caused by a distracted driver speak with qualified car accident lawyers in PA today.
Distracted driving is more than just cell phone use, but the most common type we see on our roadways is texting and driving. People just don’t seem to realize just how dangerous this practice is. To put it into some perspective realize that the average text message takes 4.6 seconds to write and send. While that may not seem like a long time to have your eyes off the road know that if you are traveling at 55 mph that text message had you driving blind for the length of a football field. That is plenty of time to cause an accident.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 16 percent of all fatal motor vehicle accidents in 2009 involved a distracted driver. They estimate that at least 5,474 people were killed and another 448,000 were injured all over something as simple as a text message. The amount of people getting injured or killed each year due to distracted driving have reached levels qualifying it as an epidemic.
Make our roads safer by not driving distracted. This means not performing any tasks that will take your attention away from driving safely, including:
- Texting or talking on a cell phone (even hands free)
- Eating or drinking
- Grooming
- Playing with an iPod or MP3 player
- Adjusting the radio
- Using a GPS
- Reading (even maps)
- Watching a video
- Using a social networking site
- Or any other action that takes attention away from the road
Having a skilled PA personal injury lawyer on your side could be the defining factor in your case. It has been shown that on average those who choose to hire an attorney receive 3.5 times more compensation than those who do not. No one should fall victim to a distracted driver, and if this type of careless action resulted in the injury of you or someone you love you deserve to be compensated.