According to the National Safety Council, approximately one in every four car accidents involves some use of a cell phone. Interestingly, the National Safety Council learned that only 5% of these phone-related crashes involved texting while driving. In fact, 21% of all crashes occurred when a driver was talking on a handheld or hands-free cell phone.
Other accidents occurred when a driver was scrolling through a social media site or a news site on their cell phone while driving. Talking on a cell phone while behind the wheel or using a cell phone in any way is believed to be incredibly dangerous.
The National Safety Council says that distracted driving is grossly underreported. They claim that in 2012 alone, 3,328 people were killed and 421,000 people were injured in crashes that involved a distracted driver. 26% of those distracted drivers were using a cell phone when the crash occurred.
Cell phone use contributes to car accidents because many conversationalists on the line stop paying attention to traffic and get wrapped up in their conversation. The same issue can occur if a passenger inside the car and the driver get into an intense discussion. Once the driver's focus is off the road, the tendency for a driver to get into a car accident surmounts.
Distracted driving can also include eating while driving, drinking (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) while driving, dealing with fussy children in the backseat, listening to the radio or audiobooks, or any other distraction that causes the driver to stop focusing on the road and instead focus on something happening within the vicinity of the vehicle. The National Safety Council believes that by minimizing distractions inside the car, they can protect hundreds of motorists from death.
The National Safety Council believes that distracted driving accidents are far more common than statistics even allow, because crashes of this nature are underreported. Cell phones may be involved in more accidents then we even realize. Some drivers don't want to get in trouble after causing an accident, and may deny the use of a cell phone during the time of the crash.
Currently, 12 stats ban the use of cell phones while driving. This regards hand-held cell phones, and does not put restriction on Bluetooth use or hands-free in car devices. In these 12 states (and the District of Columbia) the police have primary enforcement rights. This means that they can pull over drivers simply for talking on their cell phone. They don't need an additional reason to pull over a driver.
42 states, and Washington D.C., have bans on text messaging while driving. There are fice states that prohibit novice drivers from texting while driving, and three states that restrict school bus drivers from texting while driving as well. Texting allows drivers to take their eyes off of the road for seconds at a time. It takes only several seconds for a driver to miss a hazard in the road or fail to see that a traffic signal has changed.
The National Safety Council reports that there are no states where all cell phone use has been banned. 37 states and the District of Columbia ban all cell phone use for novice drivers. 20 states prohibit all cell phone use by bus drivers. It is best to put away your phone while driving, or even turn it off to continue to reduce distraction. If you are injured in an automobile accident out on the road because of another driver's poor choices, contact a car accident lawyer today. You will want a hardworking and reliable lawyer on your side. With the right attorney there to help you, you may be able to prove that the other driver was driving distracted and is fully responsible for the accident that occurred.