New Jersey drivers may be interested in a study by one government agency that looked at the prevalence of distracted driving on American roads. According to the CDC, over 1000 people are injured and nine are killed each day in the U.S. due to an auto accident involving a distracted driver.
Studies further indicate that there are three main types of distractions that can affect drivers: visual, cognitive and manual. Visual involves a driver’s eyes leaving the road, cognitive involves a person’s thoughts leaving the act of driving and manual suggests that one’s hands have actually left the wheel of the car. These distractions most often come in the form of texting or making phone calls while driving.
According to the agency’s study, in 2011 over two-thirds of analyzed drivers admitted that they had been talking on a cellphone within the previous 30 days, far higher than the rate in many other countries. Almost a third of drivers admitted to texting while driving their car. Other data showed that almost half of teenage drivers text while operating a motor vehicle. This behavior, a report says, is correlated with a higher instance of traveling with a drunk driver as well.
A driver who is texting and driving or otherwise distracted is often at much higher risk for causing a car accident. When a person is a victim of a distracted driver, they may suffer catastrophic injuries in the crash. If the other driver is at fault, they may be responsible for the victim’s injuries. An attorney may be able to help file a lawsuit to recover that compensation in civil court.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Distracted Driving“, December 02, 2014