Pay Attention When Driving

A 17-year-old girl was a passenger in the sedan when the 18-year-old driver went through a red light, smashing into an SUV that was making a proper left turn. The drivers of both vehicles suffered serious injuries, and the young lady was killed. It was one more tragic incident that occurred because a driver wasn’t focusing on the road.

Distracted Driving Facts 

Distracted driving results in a lot of close calls, and far too many actual accidents.  In 2022 alone, more than 3,300 people were killed as a result of driver distractions, and many thousands more were injured. Studies indicate that distracted driving is a factor in 20 percent of all driving fatalities. In 2024, roughly 400,000 accidents were attributed to distractions, with younger drivers being the predominant offenders.

What Kinds of Distractions are Problems? 

The biggest problem when it comes to distractions is obviously phones. Calling, texting, and more tend to take a driver’s eyes off of the road long enough to be a serious problem.  About one-third of distracted driving accidents are connected to phone usage. Certainly, other issues such as eating, adjusting radio controls, and interacting with other passengers can be dangerous, too. But other types of distractions can be dangerous as well, including cognitive distractions that take one’s mind off the road, auditory distractions that disrupt one’s concentration, and manual distractions that take one’s hands off the wheel. Any of these can be very dangerous.  The top ten distractions according to Toyota include:

• Being lost in one’s thoughts;
• Using cell phones;
• Looking at scenery or other items out of the vehicle;
• Interactions with those in the car;
• Using some device, like a razor;
• Eating and drinking;
• Adjusting dials in the car;
• Using cruise control;
• Moving things in the car;
• Smoking.

All of this is risky because taking your eyes off the road for even one second means traveling 80-100 feet going at freeway speeds. Imagine the potential outcomes if the amount of time jumps to five seconds or more! The possibility of a tragic outcome is simply not worth the risk.

Some Scary Statistics 

• More than four in ten high schoolers report they text while driving.
• The average driver is distracted by a phone roughly 10 percent of the time they are driving.
• Distracted driving increases in the evenings.
• One in five accidents with injuries is caused by distracted driving.
• Societal costs of distracted driving are roughly $40 billion annually.

If You’ve Been Injured 

Has a distracted driver injured you or a loved one? If so, you may be entitled to damages to address medical bills, lost wages, and more. To discuss your situation, schedule a confidential consultation with the experienced Kissimmee and Orlando personal injury attorneys at Salazar & Kelly Law Group today. We always fight for the best possible outcomes for you.

Source:

winknews.com/2025/03/12/1-dead-following-crash-on-gladiolus-drive-in-fort-myers-injuries-reported/