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Nearly 10% of Fatal Crashes Involved Distracted Driving

9/26/2012

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Distracted driving is a contributing factor in nearly 10% of all fatal crashes in 2010, while that number nearly doubles to 18% for crashes where individuals were injured, according to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The report studied all vehicle crashes in 2010.  NHTSA found that 416,000 people were injured that year in motor vehicle crashes that involved distracted drivers, while 3,092 peoople were killed in crashes where someone was exhibiting distracted driving behaviors.

Of the large truck drivers (like 18-wheelers) involved in fatal crashes, 5% were found to have been distracted, and 9% of those were distracted by their cell phones.  It is noteworthy that handheld use of cell phones is prohibited for truck drivers operating on interstate highways.

In comparison, 7% of the passenger car drivers in fatal crashes were found to have been distracted, and 14% of those were distracted by cell phones.

Cell phone usage was associated with 408 deaths (13% of total distracted driving fatalities) and 24,000 injuries (6% of those injured in distracted driving crashes).

Young people are more distracted than others.  Of drivers less than 20 years old involved in a fatal crash, 11% were found to be distracted at the time of the crash making this age group the largest of all distracted drivers involved in a fatal crash. About 19% of this group was distracted by cell phones.

You will find more Distracted Driving information on distraction.gov.   
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    Author

    Scott Brazil is an attorney in Houston, Texas, who is board certified in Personal Injury and Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

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