The Alabama distracted driving lawyers at Wininger Law Firm, LLC, are painfully aware that 20% of all traffic fatalities in the U.S. are caused by distracted drivers. In total, 80% of all motor vehicle accidents are caused by some form of driver distraction.
A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study indicates that driver distractions present themselves in visual, cognitive or manual forms — meaning that anything that causes us to take our eyes off the road, our minds from driving, or our hands off the wheel, can present a driving hazard.
Major driving distractions:
Alabama bans all cell phone use (both handheld or hands-free) including the use of cell phones for talking, e-mailing or texting, for new drivers. There is good evidence to support this law. In the United States, over 5 billion text messages are sent each day and about 20% of all drivers admit to texting while they are driving.
Researchers at the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University recently studied the reaction time of text-messaging drivers and found that their reaction time was twice as slow when texting or reading, as when they refrained from using a handheld device.
The researchers asked 42 drivers between the ages of 16 to 54 to drive around an 11-mile course. They drivers were instructed to pay attention to the road while composing or receiving text messages on a smartphone. When a warning light flashed, they were to bring their vehicles to a stop.
Typically, it took the drivers 1 to 2 seconds to react to the flashing light when they were not texting. While texting, it took them a full 3 to 4 seconds to react.
Besides doubling their reaction time, the distracted drivers were 11 times more likely to miss the warning light altogether while texting. In addition they were less able to maintain a constant driving speed or to stay in their own lanes while texting.
The researchers concluded that their findings “extend to other driving distractions that involve reading or writing, such as checking e-mail or Facebook.”
Driver distraction can lead to serious injuries or fatalities on Alabama roads. Call Wininger Law Firm, LLC, at 888.808.INJURY to file a claim for damages against a negligent, inattentive or distracted driver. Our Birmingham texting accident lawyers work hard to obtain compensation for accident victims in Alabama.
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