Citrus County Injury Attorney Blog
April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, so it seems fitting that a new study has some troubling findings.
Despite mass attempts to preventing using cell phones while driving, the study—by driver analytics company, Zendrive—revealed that drivers in America use their mobile devices during 88 out of 100 car trips.
In what Zendrive calls the largest behavior study on distracted driving, the company analyzed three million anonymous drivers for three months, reviewing 570 million car trips taken between Dec. 2016 and Feb. 2017, covering 5.6 billion miles.
The found drivers used their phones during 88 percent of the 570 million trips, but also, during hour-long drives, drivers spent an average of 3.5 minutes using their phones.
Past studies from researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute have shown that dialing a phone could increase a drivers’ chance of crashing by 12 times. Simply reaching for your mobile device raises the risk of crashing by almost five times.
There was a spike in traffic deaths in 2016, so this study just further proves how big a problem distracted driving really is. Taking selfies, texting, fiddling with radio dials, and eating are all forms of distracted driving. It is important that we nip this growing problem in the bud, so that we do not see more distracted driving crashes on Citrus County roads. Whether you need to put your phone in the back seat or limit the number of passengers you have, keep all distractions out of reach when you are driving, no matter the distance.
If you or someone you love has been injured or killed in a distracted driving crash, our Citrus County Auto Accident Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can help. Call us today at 866-608-5529 or contact us online for a free consultation.