At any given moment during the daylight hours, more than 800,000 vehicles are being driven by a distracted driver using a hand-held cell phone.

Distracted driving includes a wide variety of activities that many people do while driving: 

• Using your cell phone
• Eating or drinking
• Talking to passengers
• Combing your hair, putting on makeup, even shaving
• Reading, including road maps
• Using a GPS
• Watching a video
• Changing the radio station, mp3 player or CD

All distractions endanger drivers’ and passengers’ safety, but texting is the most alarming because it involves all three types of distraction – a triple threat to your safety.  The three main types of distraction are:

1. Visual — this means taking your eyes off the road
2. Manual — taking you hands off the wheel
3. Cognitive — thinking about something other than driving

Research on distracted driving reveals some terrifying facts:

• In 2008, slightly more than 20 percent of all crashes involved some type of distraction. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration )
• In 2008, nearly 6,000 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver, and more than 500,000 were injured. (NHTSA)
• Younger, inexperienced drivers under 20 years of age have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes. (NHTSA)
• Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into serious injury crashes. (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
• Using a cell phone — hand-held or hands-free — delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. (University of Utah)

If you or a loved one has been in a car crash in which the other driver was distracted, please call the personal injury lawyers at Carr & Carr, 1-877-392-4878.  You can also contact Carr & Carr attorneys on our website.  Our experienced lawyers can help you decide the next steps.  With offices in Oklahoma City, midtown Tulsa and east Tulsa, we are available statewide to assist you, even if your accident occurred outside of Oklahoma.

Related posts:

1. Why Would A Car Wreck Be Reconstructed?
2. 30 Seconds Is All It Takes To Avoid A Senseless Tragedy
3. Should I See A Doctor After A Car Wreck?
4. Why You Need an Attorney To Fight For Your Rights Against Insurance Companies
5. “Just A Fender Bender” Can Cause Serious Injury

Tags: automobile accident, automobile crash, automobile wreck, car accident, car crash, car wreck, cell phone, distracted driving, texting

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 at 11:47 am and is filed under Automotive Accidents, FAQ, Personal Injury, Video.