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Distracted driving is far more common than you thought

On Behalf of | Jun 6, 2019 | Uncategorized

You know that distracted driving, often referred to as the “new” drunk driving, is incredibly dangerous. It takes lives, causes accidents, leads to serious injuries and much more. It does all of that in a way that is completely avoidable if people committed to focusing on the road when they were behind the wheel.

Understanding that it is dangerous is only half of the battle, though. You also need to understand just how common it is. That’s when the true threat really becomes clear.

20 minutes

To find out how bad it was, researchers decided to film the highway. This gave them a chance to catch all of the distracted driving happening on that highway since they could go back, slow down the film, pause it and take other steps to make sure they didn’t miss anything. They would know, without a doubt, how many people were distracted.

The study lasted a mere 20 minutes. After filming for that long, they counted up the distractions, and this is what they found:

  • 150 people were driving while talking on their cellphones
  • 17 people were texting while they were driving
  • 12 people were eating in the car
  • six people were engaging in a variety of other distractions

Overall, that meant that 185 people suffered from notable distractions in just 20 minutes. Imagine how many people drive down that road over the course of a day, all while letting distractions take their minds off of driving. Then remember that it’s just one road, in one location. This type of distraction happens all over the United States, day in and day out.

Invisible distractions

Another key thing to note is that some drivers could find themselves engaged in invisible distractions that will not show up on video. For instance, maybe a driver got lost in thought, their mind wandering, while they drove. They could find themselves just as distracted as someone on a phone. Or maybe a driver was nodding off, getting dangerously tired. He or she did not appear to be asleep at the time of filming, but that fatigue still provided a serious distraction and could cause an accident.

You can’t see all distractions. That does not mean they’re not a factor. It does not mean they’re not dangerous. One of the reasons that distracted driving is such a problem is specifically because it takes so many different forms.

Your rights

Every time you drive, you have to share the road with all of those distracted drivers. It’s very dangerous for you, and it’s a risk you can’t ignore. If one of them causes an accident and injures you, make sure you know what legal rights you have to seek out financial compensation in Florida.

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