Citrus County Injury Attorney Blog
Florida ranks second only to Louisiana for distracted driving, according to a study.
Drivers were scored on data gathered through the EverDrive motion-sensing app. It measured speeding, sudden acceleration, aggressive turning, hard braking and other movement while the driver’s phone was being used.
The findings suggest 92 percent of drivers nationwide with cell phones have used them while in a moving car in the past 30 days, according to EverQuote Inc., an online insurance firm.
Florida drivers received the second-worst score for driving while distracted, according to the study’s points system.
The EverDrive app logged 2.7 million vehicle trips and 230 million miles driven, the company said.
Florida is one of only five states where police cannot pull over a driver specifically for texting while driving.
Iowa, Ohio, Nebraska and South Dakota are the other states with laws that require police to stop drivers for other offenses before adding distracted driving to the citation.
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month in Florida.
According to the state department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, there were almost 50,000 crashes involving distracted driving in Florida, in 2016, which is more than five crashes every hour.
These distracted driving crashes accounted for more than 3,500 serious injuries and 233 deaths.
Distracted driving seems to be a worsening problem in Florida, as well as throughout the United States. Distracted driving is dangerous and places everyone sharing the roadway at an increased risk of being involved in an unnecessary auto accident. Sadly, many distracted driving accidents result in catastrophic injuries and even wrongful death.
If you or someone you love has been seriously harmed in an auto accident due to a distracted driver, our Citrus County Auto Accident Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can help you file a claim to recover compensation. Distracted drivers must be held accountable for their reckless actions, so let us help you do just that.
Call us today at 352-726-0078 or contact us online for a free consultation. We will make sure you understand your legal options and what outcome you can expect.