When you operate a motor vehicle, you need to avoid a number of distractions, such as using a phone behind the wheel, focusing on billboards and other objects instead of the road and even talking with other people in the car. Unfortunately, many drivers do not pay attention to the risks associated with distracted driving, and they place lives in danger when they lose focus.
It is vital to take a look at statistics on distracted driving in order to understand how widespread these serious collisions are and the impact of this dangerous behavior.
Deaths and injuries due to distracted driving
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that distracted driving accidents resulted in roughly 400,000 people sustaining injuries in 2018, based on estimates. Moreover, distracted drivers became involved in accidents that resulted in the loss of more than 2,800 lives in 2018.
Among drivers involved in deadly distracted driving crashes, one out of every four were between the ages of 20 and 29, and drivers between 15 and 19 had a higher chance of driving distracted when fatal accidents occurred than drivers of other age groups. This highlights the dangers associated with distracted driving for younger drivers, but drivers of all age groups can become distracted.
Risks linked to distracted driving
Drivers need to realize that many behaviors can cause people to become distracted behind the wheel. For example, eating food, adjusting the volume, reading a map and adjusting the mirror can lead to distracted driving. If a distracted driver caused a serious crash, you need to thoroughly examine your options as you try to recover.
