Atlanta Cell Phone Accident Attorneys
Cell Phone Accidents in Atlanta
Distracted driving causes thousands of car accidents in Georgia and throughout the United States each year. Many of these accidents are caused by drivers who are too busy talking or texting on their cell phones to pay proper attention to the road. Unfortunately, when a focus on cell phones causes an accident, it's not just the cell phone's user who suffers.
Dangers of Distracted Driving
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), up to 25 percent of U.S. drivers are talking on their cell phones while on the road at any given time. Over 1.4 billion car trips are made each year while the driver is talking on a cell phone. While these numbers are significantly lower than the number of U.S. drivers who do other distracting things while driving, like listening to music or talking to passengers in the car, the risk posed by using a cell phone while driving is often higher than the risk of engaging in other activities - especially if the driver is dialing the phone or sending text messages. The risk increases on a cell phone because the device distracts the driver's brain, hands, and eyes from driving - the three most important things that should be focused on operating the car safely, according to the NHTSA.
Cell Phone Accident Statistics
Approximately 229,000 drivers report being in a cell-phone-related car crash each year, according to the Gallup organization. In 2009, nearly 1,000 drivers were killed in a car accident in which distraction by a cell phone caused the crash. Thousands more were injured. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that drivers who are using a hand-held cell phone are four times more likely to cause injuries in a car accident than drivers who are not using a hand-held device of any kind. Perhaps most shocking, a University of Utah study found that drivers using any kind of cell phone while driving - whether hand-held or hands-free - had the same delayed reaction times as people with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent, the legal limit for drinking and driving.
Young drivers between ages 16 and 20 years old suffer the most cell-phone-related accident injuries and deaths, based on NHTSA data. However, anyone on the road can be at risk for a crash, whether or not they are using a cell phone while driving. Drivers can reduce their own risk for causing a crash by never using a cell phone while driving, which helps lessen the chances that they and their passengers will be injured or killed in a distracted driving car accident. However, even the most careful drivers cannot prevent other drivers from using cell phones or failing to pay proper attention to the road.
Holding Distracted Drivers Responsible
Car accidents can cause devastating injuries, some of which are permanent. Far too many U.S. families see loved ones injured or killed in car accidents each year, a double tragedy when one considers that many of these cell phone and distracted driving accidents can be avoided. If someone you love has been injured or killed in a crash caused by a driver on a cell phone, please don't hesitate to call the experienced Atlanta accident attorneys at The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C. to discuss your legal rights and options. We are committed to helping our clients hold negligent individuals liable so that they can focus on getting their life back on track.
