Whether the public is aware of it or not, everyone has a moment or two where they are distracted while driving. The most careful drivers have their moments. Many distractions can pull the eyes away from the road; crying children, a nagging spouse, someone familiar waving from the sidewalk, etc. And now there are electronic devices of all kinds that cause drivers to remove their concentration from the task at hand.
Cellphones, as wonderful an invention as they are, have become a major cause of distraction to drivers. In spite of laws that are now in place designed to prevent more people from talking on their phones while driving, the truth is, most people do spend time involved in cellphone conversation while commuting from one place to another. Then people began the very convenient exercise of texting on their cellphones. This is much more of a distraction than is conversation, because texting actually requires people to focus on the phone itself, completely taking their eyes off the road. Since the onset of texting distracted driving accidents have skyrocketed in number. Movements such as texting, dialing, and simply reaching for the phone have increased the possibilities of an accident by three times. Statistics show that, across the country every day, 660,000 people are engaged in the use of either a cellphone or some type of electronic device while they are driving.
Unfortunately, because of the increased risk factors brought on by the use of cellphones and other hand held devices, accident law firms, these days, are kept very busy. Distracted driving accidents now represent a large percentage of cases presented to any car accident lawyer. Distracted driving is now the most common cause of car accidents. 25% of all car crashes now are distracted driving accidents.
Another common cause of distracted driving accidents is driving while under the influence. Many people each day will get behind the wheel of a car and pull out into traffic after having a drink, or two, or three…Drugs also play a major role in driving while under the influence. The fact is that most people, however in control they think they might be, will have some measure of impairment after ingesting any drug. It is estimated that every day less than 4,000 people are arrested for drinking and driving. The other side of that coin is that this is only 4,000 out of the 300,000 who are actually out there on the road drunk, at the same time. Of people who are arrested for driving drunk as a first offense, most have already driven under the influence about 80 times without having been pulled over. Taking these statistics into consideration, a car accident attorney representing a client arrested for DUI has a lot of work to do in order to keep the repercussions as minimal as possible.
Other causes of distracted driving accidents can include reckless driving and speeding. Running red lights and running stop signs are a common cause of accidents due to the driver being distracted or under the influence. DUI offenders are not able to make clear decisions, in addition to their reflexes being impaired by whatever they drank or ingested into their system. Driving while intoxicated will obviously bring with it recklessness because of the impairment of judgment.
Fatigued driving is the cause of many traffic accidents as well. This is a common cause of accidents involving trucks and tractor trailers. In 2012 alone it was estimated that 333,000 trucks were involved in accidents, just in the United States. Many tractor trailer driving jobs require drivers to drive very long distances, even from one section of the country to another, which keeps them on the road for many hours at a time. In spite of laws enforced to ensure that drivers get the proper amount of rest, there are still many who are on the road exhausted. In cases of accidents that involve truck drivers suffering from fatigue, a consultation with a good truck accident attorney would be the way to go. A truck accident lawyer experienced at representing clients who spend many hours on the road in these monster vehicles would have the experience and knowhow to provide a good defense.