Statistics Show 29 Percent of all Accidents Involve Cell Phone Use While Driving
Indiana auto accident lawyers are looking forward to the passing of a new law that would ban text messaging while driving for all motorists. New statistics released by the National Safety Council should ensure that the bill receives support in the legislature. The bill which seeks to ban text messaging while driving for all motorists in Indiana has received support, and as Indiana personal injury lawyers, we remain optimistic that the bill will pass.
Last week, the National Safety Council released new data which shows that 28 percent of all auto accidents are caused by motorists using cell phones while driving. The NSC estimates that up to 1.4 million accidents are caused by motorists having conversations on their cell phones while at the wheel. Approximately 200,000 accidents are caused by motorists texting while driving.
Also last week, the Department of Transportation and the National Safety Council announced the launch of a new group dedicating to supporting the families of victims of accidents caused by distracted driving. The group is called FocusDriven, and hopes to galvanized public opinion and pressure state legislatures in the same manner that Mothers Against Drunk Driving has done for intoxicated driving. FocusDriven plans to increase pressure on states to enact their own legislation to minimize distracted driving
In an ideal world, we would not need a law that tells us to switch off anything that takes our attention away from the road. However, our experience and practice as Indiana auto accident lawyers tells us that awareness and education activities are never enough to tackle any safety problem. There must be strong laws that ban unsafe practices, and strict enforcement of these laws.
